Frankston Area Obituaries — 1999-Present

Here are the obituaries posted for the current month from information provided courtesy of local and area funeral homes and published on their websites or those submitted by families. If an obituary is overlooked and it is desired that it be posted, please inform us at frankstondepotlibrary@gmail.com . Families may request changes or additions, if required. If you have an obituary for a person who has connections with someone or some family in the Frankston-Poynor-LaRue or Lake Palestine area that you want posted to this month or to the archives, and is not currently posted, please let us know at frankstondepotlibrary@gmail.com . Obituaries selected or submitted should follow a format which is essentially consistent with other obituaries posted here or by funeral homes and follow standard grammatical style. Through arrangements with funeral homes and/or the families, we will publish pictures with current obituaries. We will add pictures to archived obituaries from the print version of The Citizen newspaper prior to September 2019 when available. Pictures with archived obituaries posted after that will be added in cooperation with funeral homes or on requests from families.  As was the tradition of the Citizen newspaper, obituaries are published at no charge.

(Obituaries listed chronologically by date of death or funeral service.)

Nixie Folmar McMillan

Nixie Folmar McMillan, 91, died Saturday, June 1, 2019, in Flint.  

A graveside service was held on Saturday, June 8, 2019, at Cathedral in the Pines under the direction of Lloyd James Funeral Home.

Nixie was born June 9, 1927 in Palestine to Wade and Dixie Folmar, the only girl in a family of boys.

Raised in Frankston, she became a nurturing person while helping her mother care for her brothers.

On August 25, 1945, following his release from the Army, she married William R. McMillan and shortly thereafter moved to Tyler. They were blessed with two children, Laney and Robert. They bought their family home and all they needed were their children.  

The McMillan family was quite happy in their little white house but when the opportunity came to adopt, they opened their heart and home to Dana.  

Nixie was a stay at home mom while her children were young and made sure there were homemade cookies and good things to eat. She loved children. After her children were older Nixie baby-sat for a neighbor, Dean Mendez. The family loved him as their own. When his parents Larry and Donna moved to a new home, they no longer needed Nixie as their baby-sitter.

Nixie’s three children grew up and started their own families and soon the third generation came along. She was overjoyed. She helped raise her grandchildren and then her great-grandchildren.

She devoted 15 years to J.C. Penny’s but her expertise in children was needed when her baby boy, her nine month old grandson fell down the stairs and needed her help. J.C. Penny’s lost a good employee but her calling needed her so she retired to help her family.  

Nixie was preceded in death by her parents; daughter Laney McMillan; grandson Robert McMahan and several brothers.  

Survivors include her son Robert McMillan and daughter Dana Barlow; brother Archie Folmar of Jacksonville; grandchildren Alex (Kate) McMillan, Laura (Billy) Rogers, Kelsey McMillan, Christopher McMillan and Zach McMahan; great-granddaughter Madison Rogers and a great-grandson on the way.

Madison held a special place in Nixie’s heart because she was her first great-granddaughter. Madison was her little princess. July 6, 2019 was a very special day she missed because it was the due date of her second great-grandchild, a boy.

“Mom, MeMe, you are loved by many and we will miss you. However, we will just rewind our special memories and enjoy them again. A very special thank you goes out to her grandson Zach. This last year he stepped up and helped to take care of his MeMe. You did an awesome job, Zach. Thank you.”

Serving as honorary pallbearers were her grandchildren.

Christine Birdwell

Christine Birdwell, 95, of Frankston, passed away Wednesday, June 5, 2019, in Tyler.

She was born May 7, 1924, in Jacksonville to Nay and Imogene (Bizzell) Perry.

Christine married A.L. on November 24, 1945. She was and the first woman to serve with the Frankston City Council. Christine worked for United States Postal Service as Post Master in Frankston and she was the oldest member of First Baptist Church in Frankston.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, A.L. Birdwell, Jr.; sister and brother-in-law, Katrina and Harper Weesner and sister-in-law and husband, Naomi and Thomas Cook.

Left to cherish her memory are her son and daughter-in-law, Gene and Gail Birdwell of Frankston; and grandchildren, Brande Gail Birdwell and Amber and Joe Wiggins. She is survived by great-grandchildren, Lane Scarbrough, Aubrey Scarbrough, Jessica Wiggins and Julie Wiggins. Her niece and nephew are Tommy Dale and wife Lisa and Gena Stoke and husband Aaron. She is also survived by several great nieces and great nephews.

A funeral service was held Saturday, June 8, 2019, at First Baptist Church in Frankston. Rev. Scott Wiley officiated and services were under the direction of Autry Funeral Home in Frankston.  She was laid to rest at Frankston City Cemetery.

Pallbearers were Dustin Bird, Cody Bristow, Ryan Bizzell, Britt Bacon, Larry Lloyd, Mike Bird, Jesse Smith and Wayne Bristow. Honorary pallbearers were the Deacons of the First Baptist Church in Frankston and Jason Bizzell.

LaRue Ashley

LaRue Ashley, age 104, passed away on June 9, 2019. Mrs. Ashley was born on February 27, 1915 in Jewett, Texas to Julian and Mattie (Wood) Breedlove.

She was a member of Frankston Church of Christ and Lake Palestine Quilting Club.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Luther H. Ashley; son, John Ashley and twin girls.

Left to cherish her memory are her three grandchildren, Blaine Ashley and wife Diana of Cambridge, VT, Angela Dione and husband David of Blocton, AL, Amy Ashley of Plano; and dear friend, Rae Roberson of Palestine. She is also survived by five great grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren.

A graveside service is scheduled for Thursday, June 13, 2019 at White Rock Cemetery in Elmott, Texas. Don Canter and Larry Smith will officiate. Services are under the direction of Autry Funeral Home in Frankston.

Emma “Jinks” Morton

A funeral service for Emma “Jinks” Morton, 100, of Poynor, was held Tuesday, June 25, 2019, at Autry Funeral Home Chapel in Frankston.  

Bro. Jeff Godwin and Bro. Paul Diepenbruck officiated.  

Mrs. Morton was laid to rest at Poynor Cemetery in Poynor, Texas.  

Mrs. Morton passed away Saturday, June 22, 2019, in Athens.

She was born February 11, 1919, in Keller, Texas, to Robert Monroe Stephenson and Emma Virginia (Webb) Stephenson.

Jinks was the oldest living member of First Baptist Church Poynor.

She loved fishing, spending time in the hayfield, and was a huge fan of LaPoynor basketball, but, most of all, she loved her family.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, C.C. ”Bud” Morton, two brothers, two sisters, and daughter-in-law Dorothy Morton.

Left to cherish her memory are her daughter, Carolyn Walker and husband Bob of Poynor and son, Clarence Morton of Frankston; eight grandchildren, Bobby Walker and wife Janice, Carey Walker and wife Kelli, Cindy Owens and husband James, Patricia Walker, Clay Morton, Shelley Vaughn, Cyndy Walker, and Christine Morton-Stepp; sixteen Great-Grandchildren, twenty Great-Great Grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Her grandchildren  served as pallbearers.

The family would like to express special thanks to the staff of Lakeland House Assisted Living in Athens, for their wonderful care.  

Rather than customary condolences, memorials for Jinks may be made to First Baptist Church Poynor P.O. Box 197 Poynor, Texas 75782.

JoAnn King

JoAnn King, 72, of Ozark, Arkansas, died Saturday, June 22, in Heber Springs, Arkansas.

She was retired from Whirlpool in Fort Smith and was a member of Union Assembly of God Church.

She was born Dec. 25, 1946, in Franklin County, Arkansas, to Bernard and Modine Tolbert Brown.

She was preceded in death by a sister, Delores Ann Sullivan, and an infant son.

She is survived by her husband, David King of Ozark; two daughters, Teresa Vanover of Clarksville, Arkansas, and Shari Grigsby of Ozark; a son, David Anthony King of Ozark; two sisters, Janie Campbell of Ozark and Gladys Hice of Magazine, Arkansas; two brothers, David Brown of Frankston, Texas, and Leonard Brown of Collinsville, Alabama; nine grandchildren; and four great grandchildren.

A funeral service was held Saturday, June 29, at First Assembly of God Church in Paris with Brother Nathan King, Brother Wayne Thacker and Brother J.D. King officiating.

Burial was at Cemetery Ridge Cemetery under direction of Shaffer Funeral Home in Ozark.

Gene Fields

Gene Fields, 70, left this world on Sunday, June 23, 2019, amidst the wildflowers of his Lindale home.

He was born September 16, 1948, in Jacksonville, Texas, and grew up in Frankston.

He was the son of long-time Frankston Depot Agent, Harry Fields, and artist, Maggie Fields, who instilled in him a deep reverence of nature, the impulse to create, and a warmth toward all people he came in contact with.

He graduated Frankston High School in 1967, where he famously served as Class President for 128 days.  

He attended Henderson County Junior College and Texas A&M before transferring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. In the summer of 1971 before his final examinations, he drove cross-country to propose to his high school sweetheart, Jemmy. They married in August in the gazebo of the Frankston City Park and would have celebrated their 48th anniversary this year.

Gene graduated with a M.S. from M.I.T. in 1972 and enjoyed a long and celebrated career as a mechanical engineer and inventor. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Global Advanced Technologies at Johnson Controls International. He traveled and worked extensively in France, India, South Korea, China, and Japan.

Locally, Gene is remembered as a musical legend, the singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the rock band Hobbit, which was most active in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Gene is preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Maggie (Liles) Fields, and his brother, Vic Fields. He is survived by his wife, Jemmy Fields, and their daughters, Robin and Alison.

A celebration of his life was held on Sunday, June 30, at One Realtor Center, 2772 S SE Loop 323 in Tyler.

(Obituaries posted contain information posted by funeral homes and/or families. Families may request changes or additions, if appropriate or required.)