MATTHEW MORGAN McCALL, M.D, Alikchi Chukma of the Choctaws, Page

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Arlee Claud Gowen (G1/6.2), son of Claud Franklin Gowen (G2/1.6) and Ora Ethel Cox Gowen (C2/10.1), was born November 24, 1922 at Lamesa.  He attended McCarty community school and Lamesa public schools, graduating from Lamesa High School in May 1939.  For two years prior to graduation he was employed by "Lamesa Reporter," weekly newspaper on which he worked as a "printer's devil."

 

What memories stand out for a youngster growing up on a farm in the "dirty thirties?"  What poignant recollections of youth remain from over 50 years ago? 

 

"Having my own tin dinner plate when I became old enough 'to come to the ta­ble.'  The tiny plate, embossed with numerals and the letters of the alphabet around its circumference, would make the kid a 'man of letters,' according to Cousin Guy Rotan who was the donor of the treasured tinware.

 

Receiving a bright red coaster wagon for Christmas that would allow you to transport all your dogs and cats in one trip.

 

Drawing straws with my grandmother to see who had to go outside on a cold, snowy day to winnow the chaff out of the popcorn before we made popcorn balls.

 

Watching a sandstorm that looked like a wall 3,000 feet high roll onto the farmstead out of Lynn County during the dustbowl days.

 

Sitting on top of a packed icecream freezer while Dad turned the crank and con­templating the ecstasy of that ambrosia crossing the palate as my rump slowly turned numb with cold.

 

Shelling peas in a washing machine wringer and watching the legumes emerge like machinegun bullets, when the family undertook a mass-production canning effort to supply food co-op during the depression.

 

Slipping our feet into the flouroscope in the shoe department at Collins De­partment Store when trying on new brogans.  You could see in the x-ray image where the toes were pinched, and with it probably came enough radiation to see your feet glow in the dark.

 

Firing up ready-rolled Chesterfields pilfered from Uncle Elmer's pack by Cousin Dorman.  When he caught us, he put us in the cab of his pickup, rolled up the windows and gave us the whole pack to smoke non-stop.

 

Selecting the brightest, shiniest, red 'lumberyard' from the stock of spinning tops at Boothe's store and seeing that oak leviathan splintering tops of lesser pedigree from the 'keepers' ring' on the schoolyard.

 

Chopping cotton in the summertime on the Sellers farm at 20 cents an acre for the first money I ever earned.  The most disagreeable parts of the job were (1) the gnats that swarmed into the shade of my straw hat and (2) the water bucket was always at the other end of the field.

 

Building the 'world's largest nigger-shooter,' a catapault-sized device capable of hurling a half-pound stone 300 yards and endangering the lives of everyone who came within range.

 

Substituting at right end and catching the touchdown that won the intramural championship.

 

Riding away from Montgomery-Wards on the first all-aluminum bicycle ever seen in a town of 4,000 envious people.  It wasn't long before the aluminum fenders, the light, the bell and the 'longhorn' handlebars were stripped down and stash­ed in the "car shed."

 

Meeting the special train from Slaton that brought the townspeople and their devious Tigers to play our Golden Tornadoes.  The minute our win was posted on the scoreboard, fistfights broke out and continued in a running battle all the way from the stadium to the depot.

 

Riding the go-devil cultivator behind two obstreperous little mules who de­lighted in walking on the rows of young cotton rather than on top of the soil­bed the minute you began to daydream.

 

Climbing the city water tower at night with a bucket of paint on a dare and having Firechief Standifer turn on the ear-splitting city siren immediately be­low us.

 

Eating 'spotted dog' pudding in the kitchen of the widow Jones as a reward for taking the milk over to Judge Robinson's.

 

Stumbling onto a bootlegger's drop, stashed under a culvert and running all the way home with the box of six gallons of home brew proudly clutched between us, only to have Dad send us back to return it where we found it.

 

Pulling bolls for 'a dollar a hundred' and thinking that there must be a better way.

 

Helping Dad dig a cellar under the house, using a one-horse scoop pulled by 'ole Bill.'  Dad would 'fresno' the dirt out of the excavation while I kept the horse going forward to dump and backing up to refill.

 

Sleeping out under the grape arbor in the summertime and watching the stars peep through the Concord vines and invariably getting purple stains on the pil­lowcase to Mother's chagrin.

 

Sitting atop a runaway horse and holding on for dear life to the hames that were pumping like pistons on a racing locomotive.  That skittish stallion shied at a tincan in the row while I was riding him to 'scratch' cotton.  The scratchers were cedar posts with headless 16-penny spikes driven into them that were dragged along the row, breaking the crust to help sprouting cotton plants emerge.  I could have bailed out any time in the soft plowed ground, but those cedar posts were flailing the air behind me like machetes.  The trace ropes pulling the posts broke when he jumped a 10-foot ditch onto the county roadbed, but then the surface was too hard and he was running too fast.  He covered the half mile to the house in record time, and approaching the horselot gate, planted his front feet in a dead stop and watched me sail over his head and over the old toprail.

 

Showing Cousin Dorman in his visit to the college how to "requisition" golf­balls at the driving range at 2:00 a.m, only to have the floodlights suddenly come on and being forced to flee through the campus steam tunnels.

 

Rounding the Ad Building circle in the slickest, reddest Ford roadster that 3,500 envious Tech students had ever seen.

 

Receiving the president's gavel to add to my Los Camaradas fraternity pin in my senior year and seeing it wind up on the sweater of the 'prettist girl in Tech.'

 

Spending the year of 1941 in organizing a treasure-hunting expedition to Cocos Island and in securing permission from the government of Costa Rica to embark, only to have it all go up in the flames of Pearl Harbor on December 7.

 

Being catapaulted from the flight deck in a Curtis Helldiver and suddenly real­izing that my youth was over."

 

In September 1939 he enrolled in Texas Technological College at Lubbock.  During his undergraduate days he was employed as a printer at Wood Printing Company and Texas Tech Press.  Later he was a sportswriter on the "Lubbock Avalanche-Journal."  He was graduated in June 1943 with a BA degree in journalism.

 

On October 27, 1942 he volunteered into the U. S. Naval Reserve as an aviation cadet and, prior to reporting for active duty, was employed on the flightline by Breedlove Aerial Service, flight training contractor for U.S. Army Air Corps.  His naval train­ing began at University of Texas where his physical training officer was "the meanest man that ever walked the face of the earth," Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who was later one of the winningest coaches in college football at Texas A&M Univer­sity and Univer­sity of Alabama.  After additional training at Great Lakes Naval Train­ing Station and the University of Notre Dame he was commissioned an ensign at South Bend, Indiana.  Additional duty assignments took him to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Newport, Rhode Island and Newport News, Virginia.

 

He was assigned to the USS Randolph (CV-15) as its construction was being completed.  As a "plank owner" on the new aircraft carrier he was aboard on its shake-down cruise to Trinidad.  Following refitting and renovation the USS Randolph joined the Fifth Fleet operating in the Pacific theatre, arriving on station there via the Panama Ca­nal, San Francisco and Hawaii.

 

The USS Randolph joined the fleet in the island anchorage of Ulithi atoll and partici­pated in the war against Japan until its conclusion, taking part in the Bat­tles of Bonin Islands, Iwo Jima, Io Shima, Okinawa and the Philippines and air strikes on Tokyo, Kyushu, Minami Dai­ta Jima and the Nansei Shoto, operating with the Fifth Fleet, the Third Fleet, Task Force 58 and Task Force 38.  After the signing of the peace treaty with Japan in Tokyo Bay in August 1945 the ship returned to Baltimore, Maryland October 27, 1945 for a Navy Day victory celebration.  He was awarded four battle stars and six campaign rib­bons for service in the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Mediter­ranean theaters.  He was cited for "conspicuous gallantry" by Admiral Mark Mitscher in an attack by enemy air­craft at Ulithi when his ship was hit and severely damaged by Kamikazi aircraft.

 

Later the USS Randolph made shuttle trips to Naples, Italy to deliver Italian war pri­soners and to return to the United States groups of U.S. Army nurses.

 

In December 1945 Lt.(jg) Arlee Claud Gowen (G1/6.2) received a transfer to Naval Air Transport Service and was stationed successively in Norfolk, Virginia; Patuxent River, Maryland; Olathe, Kansas and Amarillo, Texas. 

 

On February 16, 1946 he was married to May Belle "Bonnie" Bonner (B1/7.2), daughter of Joseph Drew Bonner (B2/3.7) and Alice Belle Hestand Bonner (H2/1.6) in Crane, Texas by Eddie E. Myers, minister of the gospel, according to Ector County, Texas Marriage Book 5, page 246.  May Belle "Bonnie" Bonner Gowen (B1/7.2) had graduated from Texas Tech­nological College in June 1945 and was a teacher in Phillips, Texas High School at the time of their marriage.  After a honeymoon in New Mexico the couple lived at Pantex, Texas near Amarillo Army Air Base where he was stationed. He was separated from naval service June 6, 1946 at Galveston, Texas, and they moved immediately to Lubbock where they had met in college.

 

In 1946 Arlee Claud Gowen (G1/6.2) assisted in the organizing and founding of "South- western Crop and Stock," a farm magazine.  He was named editor of the publi­cation which printed its first edition in January 1947.  May Belle "Bonnie" Bonner Gowen (B1/7.2) was a teacher at Hutchinson Junior High School in Lubbock at that time.  In 1955 he became a deacon and a bible school teacher at Broadway Church of Christ.

 

In August 1956 he assisted in the organization of High Plains Credit Corporation and was named executive vice-president of organization while continuing in the publish­ing business.  In 1959 he established a wholesale electronic supply which became known as Electros, Inc.  In 1961 he purchased a farm in Bailey County, Texas.  In April 1965 the couple applied for a distributorship with Amway Corporation and in November of that year became direct distributors with that organization.

 

He had become interested in family history research in 1941 and continued to pursue that interest for many years.  In September 1986 he entered a manuscript, "The Widder Dyches" in the Texas Sesquicentennial competition.  It was adjudged first place winner and was displayed in the Hall of State at the State Fair of Texas alongside the origi­nal Texas Declaration of Independence.  In March 1987 he was named to the board of di­rectors of the South Plains Genealogical Society.  In 1987 "The Widder Dyches" re­ceived first place in Texas State Genealogical Society competition.  In 1988 an account of his fifth-generation grandfather, "Matthew Morgan McCall, M. D, Alikchi Chukma of the Choctaws" again took the TSGS award.

 

In 1985, 40 years after the liberation of the Philippines, they made made a trip there and visited the area around Manila Bay, Cavite Naval Base, Bataan and the Island of Corregidor.

 

Having sold their publishing, finance and electronics interests the couple in 1988 lived in Lubbock where they continued to operate their Amway distributorship from their home at 5708 Gary Avenue.

 

Two daughters were born to Arlee Claud Gowen (G1/6.2) and May Belle "Bonnie" Gowen (B1/7.2):

 

        Bonnie Lee Gowen          (G-1/2.1)       born December 16, 1951

        Connie Louise Gowen     (G-1/2.2)       born July 3, 1954

 

Bonnie Lee Gowen (G-1/2.1), daughter of Arlee Claud Gowen (G1/6.2) and May Belle "Bon­nie" Gowen (B1/7.2), was born December 16, 1951 in Lubbock, according to Texas BVS File 207127.  Her first home was at 3107 30th Street in Lubbock, her second was at 3413 20th street, and in 1970 her family removed to 5708 Gary Avenue.

 

After attending Lubbock Christian School and Lubbock public schools she was gradu­ated from Lubbock High School in 1970.  Following two years at Texas Tech University she transferred to North Texas State University at Denton, Texas where she was grad­uated with a BS degree in May 1975.  Following graduate work there in chemistry and computer science she was married June 16, 1979 to David Michael Hill (H-1/1.1), son of David Hill (H1/1.1) and Betty Hill of Plano, Texas.

 

David Michael Hill (H-1/1.1), a graduate of North Texas State University and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of Viet Nam, was employed in the university's computer complex where they met.  In June 1979 she was employed by Mostek Corporation, Carrollton, Tex­as, as a computer engineer, and two years later she was employed by Phillips Coal Di­vision, Phillips Petroleum Company, Richardson, Texas as a systems analyst. 

 

In November 1984 they made their home at Lewisville, Texas where he was employed as a satellite communications engineer with Bell of Canada in nearby Richardson.  At that time she was employed by Cray Research Corporation, a supercomputer manufacturer as a systems analyst.  In April 1985 she was employed by Convex Corporation, a computer manufacturer in Richardson.  In May 1985 they purchased a home at 2405 Golden Oaks, Garland, Texas.

 

Connie Louise Gowen (G-1/2.2), daughter of Arlee Claud Gowen (G1/6.2) and May Belle "Bonnie" Bonner Gowen (B1/7.2), was born July 3, 1954 in Lubbock, according to BVS File No. 118566.  She attended Lubbock Christian School and Lubbock public schools and was graduated from Monterey High School in 1973.  During her undergradu­ate days she worked for the City of Lubbock in its Parks & Recreation Department, for Globe De­partment Store and as a waitress for International House of Pancakes, Ramada Inn and Big Texan Steak House.  She was graduated from Texas Tech University with a BS degree in 1976 and from University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Texas in June 1979 with an M.D. degree.

 

In July 1979 she began a surgery residency at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, Ha­waii.  In July 1981 she began a period of residency at Veterans Administration Hospi­tal, Johnson City, Tennessee.

 

She was married there June 25, 1983 to Darryl William Hiers (H-1/1.1), son of Dr. Don­ald Grover Hiers (H1/1.1) and Gypsy Lee Whitten Hiers (W1/1.1).  In July 1983 she be­gan the practice of plastic surgery in Chattanooga, Tennessee at Erlanger Hospital in association with the University of Tennessee.  He was graduated there from the Univer­sity of Tennessee with a B.S. degree May 6, 1985.

 

In July 1985 she established a plastic surgery practice at Jonesboro, Arkansas, and they purchased a home there at 601 Arrowhead Drive, within 100 yards of the original homestead of James Gowen (G5/1.4) who settled there before 1870!

 

In 1986 she was appointed to "Outstanding Young Women of America."  In January 1987 she was inducted into "Who's Who of American Women."  Later that year she was entered into "World's Who's Who of Women." and was named an associate fellow in the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.  On November 20, 1987 she was appointed to American Board of Plastic Surgery.

 

Willie Elmer Cox (C2/10.2), son of James Madison Cox (C3/4.10) and Amanda Lucinda "Cindy" McCall Cox (M3/1.1), was born September 30, 1896 at Leander, Texas.  He ap­peared as a three-year-old in the 1900 census of Williamson County, living in his fath­er's household.  His family removed to Albany, Texas in 1906 and to Young County in 1908, to Round Timbers, Texas in 1909 and to Altus, Oklahoma in 1911.  His father mov­ed the family to Weed, New Mexico in 1915.  He registered his cattle brand "JC" with the State of New Mexico May 23, 1917.

 

When his father was killed by gunshot there at a sawmill the 20-year-old Willie Elmer Cox (C2/10.2) rode onto the scene with his pistol ready to avenge his father's death.  He raced his pony around and around the sawmill trying to get a shot at his father's adversary without providing a stationary target him­self. Calmer heads finally pre­vailed upon him to leave justice to the law.

 

Willie Elmer Cox (C2/10.2) and his mother returned to Texas in 1920, locating on a farm in Stonewall County, and was married at Swenson, Texas January 16, 1921 to Effie Elmo Ramsey (R2/1.1) who was born March 25, 1903 in Stonewall County.  In 1924 he be­gan farming in the Klondike community of Dawson County and in 1930 bought the commun­ity grocery store there.  He died of peritonitis following an ap­pendectomy February 16, 1936, at age 39, and was buried in Lamesa Cemetery.

 

In 1939 Effie Elmo Ramsey Cox (R2/1.1) and her son lived in Seagraves, Texas.  Later she returned to Lamesa.  She died April 18, 1956 and was buried beside her hus­band.

 

One son was born to Willie Elmer Cox (C2/10.2) and Effie Elmo Ramsey Cox (R2/1.1).

 

        Dorman Elmer Cox        (C1/2.1)        born June 11, 1924

 

Dorman Elmer Cox (C1/2.1), son of Willie Elmer Cox (C2/10.2) and Effie Elmo Ramsey Cox (R2/1.1), was born June 11, 1924 in Dawson County.  He was inducted November 13, 1942 at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma in the U.S. Army Air Corps and received his basic training at Shep­herd Field, Wichita Falls, Texas.  He was married January 24, 1943 in Waresboro, Geor­gia to Meddie Rilla Chauncey (C1/1.1), who was born in Waycross, Georgia January 24, 1923.  She was one of 13 children of William Sylvester Chauncey (C2/1.1) and Emma Rib­erton Chauncey (R2/1.1).  Shortly afterward he was stationed in India and served in the C.B.I. theatre during World War II.  He was discharged from the Air Corps November 2, 1945 at Ft. McPherson, Atlanta, Georgia.

 

Following a short residency in Georgia he returned to Lamesa where he was employed in carpentry.  After a brief period the family returned to Waycross, Georgia where they were living October 25, 1946.  After a short employment on a chicken farm in Callahan, Florida he brought his family back to Lamesa where he was employed as a carpenter.  In 1955 they lived briefly in Odessa, Texas and then moved to Lubbock where he was em­ployed as a Dr. Pepper route salesman.

 

Later he was employed in the printing department of "Southwestern Crop & Stock."  Af­terwards he was em­ployed as a "glassblower" and lathe operator in the cathode ray tube plant of Elec­tros, Inc.

 

Meddie Rilla Chauncey Cox (C1/1.1) contracted cancer about 1956, and the family re­moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 1959 so she could be near her family.  She died there March 16, 1960 and was buried in the Chauncey family cemetery in Telmore, Geor­gia.  The fam­ily returned to Lubbock and resumed his association with Electros, Inc.

 

Dorman Elmer Cox (C1/2.1) was remarried September 7, 1962 to Ollie Maurice Green Ram­sey (G1/1.1).  Shortly afterward she was graduated from Lubbock School of Voca­tional Nurses.  In 1966 the removed to Ft. Worth, Texas where he was employed as a printer for Manney Co.  She was a nurse at John Peter Smith Hospital.  Later she was director of nurses at Fireside Nursing Home.

 

Ollie Maurice Green Ramsey Cox (G1/1.1) died October 30, 1975 of a heart condition. He was remarried January 8, 1976 to "her best friend," Mildred Louise Nickens Becker (N1/1.1), a nurse who was employed with her.  A mother of four, she was born Novem­ber 30, 1923 in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

In September 1983 he continued to live in Ft. Worth where he was employed as a super- intendent for a construction company.  Later he was a partner in C&R Con­struction Co. He was incapacitated for a time in a construction accident in December 1984 in which his right leg was fractured in six places.

 

Children born to Dorman Elmer Cox (C1/2.1) and Meddie Rilla Chauncey Cox (C1/1.1) in­clude:

 

        Kenneth Dorman Cox      (C-1/1.1)       born September 3, 1944

        Linda Dardanella Cox      (C-1/1.2)       born October 25, 1946

        Gary Allen Cox                (C-1/1.3)       born February 9, 1951

        Stephen Elmer Cox         (C-1/1.4)       born January 28, 1956

 

No children were born to Dorman Elmer Cox (C1/2.1) and Ollie Maurice Green Ramsey Cox (G1/1.1), but they adopted a daughter and assumed foster parenthood of another:

 

        Doyla Letta Cox              (C-1/1.5)       born October 21, 1967

        Theresa Ann Lairmore    (L-1/1.1)       born December 1, 1969

 

Kenneth Dorman Cox (C-1/1.1), son of Dorman Elmer Cox (C1/2.1) and Meddie Rilla Chaun­cey Cox (C1/1.1), was born September 3, 1944 in Waycross.  He attended school in Lame­sa, Odessa and Lubbock and was graduated there in 1963 from Monterey High School.  Following graduation he was employed by Hemphill-Wells Company and Elec­tros, Inc.  In August 1963 he enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps and received a medi­cal dis­charge from the corps in December 1963.  Later he was a student at Uni­versity of Florida.

 

He was married August 15, 1970 to Mary Virginia Allencia (A-1/1.1).  They were di­vor­ced in 1972 in Houston.  He was remarried November 20, 1972 to Chloe Lou Schumach­er (S-1/1.1) in Ft. Worth.  They were divorced shortly afterward.  He was re­married April 28, 1984 to Peggy Ann Threat, a mother of three.  In 1985 he, a con­struction super­visor, lived in Ft. Worth.  In 1988 he was a taxi driver there.

 

Children born to Kenneth Dorman Cox (C-1/1.1) and Mary Virginia Allencia Cox (A-1/1.1) include:

 

        Rilla Theresa Cox       (C-2/1.1)       born March 22, 1972

 

No children were born to Kenneth Dorman Cox (C-1/1.1), Chloe Lou Schumacher Cox (S-1/1.1) and Peggy Ann Threat Cox.

 

Linda Dardanella Cox (C-1/1.2), daughter of Dorman Elmer Cox (C1/2.1) and Meddie Rilla Chauncey Cox (C1/1.1), was born October 25, 1946 in Waycross.  She was gradu­ated from Monterey High School in 1965.  Following graduation she was enrolled in Lubbock School of Vocational Nurses where she was elected president of her class and was graduated with honors.  She took her state board examinations in May 1967 and was employed by John Peter Smith Hospital.  In an 18-year tenure there she has risen to supervisory capacity.

 

She was married February 14, 1977 to Jeffery Lynn Becker (B-1/1.4), son of her step- mother, Mildred Louise Nickens Becker Cox (N1/1.1) and William Becker (B1/1.1).  No children were born to them.

 

Gary Allen Cox (C-1/1.3), son of Dorman Elmer Cox (C1/2.1) and Meddie Rilla Chauncey Cox (C1/1.10), was born February 9, 1951 in Lamesa.  He attended public school in Lub­bock and Ft. Worth and enrolled in the latter city in Tarrant County Junior Col­lege.

 

He was married September 20, 1971 in Ft. Worth to Donna Lee "Jingles" Peters (P-1/- 1.1).  In 1972 they lived in Beckley, West Virginia.  They were divorced in 1974 in Oklahoma.  In 1978 he was remarried to Rita Darlene Gilpin (G-1/1.1), daughter of Wil­liam Franklin Gilpin (G1/1.1) and Lela Irene Lampp Gilpin (L1/1.1) of Ft. Worth. In February 1985 he was supervisor of construction and maintenance at John Peter Smith Hospital and lived in River Oaks, Texas.

 

Children born to Gary Allen Cox (C-1/1.3) and Donna Lee "Jingles" Peters Cox (P-1/1.1) include:

 

        Larry Allen Cox         (C-2/3.1)       born March 22, 1972

 

Children born to Gary Allen Cox (C-1/1.3) and Rita Darlene Gilpin Cox (G-1/1.1) in- clude:

 

        Misty Amber Cox           (C-2/3.2)       born January 21, 1980

        Stephen William Cox     (C-2/3.3)       born July 24, 1982

 

Stephen Elmer Cox (C-1/1.4), son of Dorman Elmer Cox (C1/2.1) and Meddie Rilla Chaun­cey Cox (C1/1.1), was born January 28, 1956 in Lubbock.  He attended public school in Lubbock and Ft. Worth.  He enlisted in the U.S. Navy April 17, 1975 and re­ceived his basic training in Orlando, Florida.  Later he attended a naval elec­tronics school in Chicago, Illinois.  He was discharged September 17, 1976. 

 

He was married November 24, 1978 to Karen Dawn Stanfill (S-1/1.1) in Ft. Worth.  They were divorced in 1980.  He was married June 9, 1984 in Las Vegas, Nevada to Rhonda Karen Richard Chasteen (R-1/1.1), daughter of Norman Richard (R1/1.1) and Sondra Sher Richard (S1/1.1).

 

In 1985 he, the owner of Creative Wood Crafts, continued to live in Ft. Worth.  No children were born to Stephen Elmer Cox (C-1/1.4), Karen Dawn Stanfill Cox (S-1/1.1) and Rhonda Karen Richard Chasteen Cox (R-1/1.1).

 

Doyla Letta Cox (C-1/1.5), adopted daughter of Dorman Elmer Cox (C1/2.1) and Ollie Maurice Green Ramsey Cox (G1/1.1), was born October 21, 1967 in Ft. Worth.  In 1985 she continued in the home of her parents.  She was involved in an automobile acci­dent June 16, 1985 and continued in a coma for several weeks.  She survived and was living in a Ft. Worth nursing home in September 1988.

 

A daughter was born to her:

 

        Theresa Shaelyn Cox        (C-2/5.1)         born March 24, 1985

 

Theresa Ann Lairmore-Cox (L-1/1.1), foster daughter of Dorman Elmer Cox (C1/2.1) and Ollie Maurice Green Ramsey Cox (G1/1.1), was born December 1, 1969 in California.  In 1970 she came into their home.

 

She died February 15, 1985 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to her temple.  She had a history of epileptic seizures and had recently been gripped by the debilitat­ing mal­ady.  Her organs were donated to transplant patients, and she was buried in Azleland Memorial Park.

 

Dan Malone, staff writer for "Ft. Worth Star-Telegram," wrote an article around the suicide note which she left for her family:

 

"The two-page note that Theresa Ann Lairmore-Cox left her family on Valentine's Day was full of love.  But when her father reads it now, it brings tears to his eyes and a tremor to his voice.

 

Theresa, a 15-year-old freshman at Boswell High School, wrote her farewell Thursday morning, moments before squeezing the trigger of the pistol she had placed to her head.  She died Friday at John Peter Smith Hospital.

 

Theresa's father, Dorman E. Cox, says he does not know why his daughter killed herself.  Her note did not explain it, although she expressed concerns about her epilepsy and anxiety about her health, he said.

 

"She had been having epileptic seizures, but hadn't been bothered for some time.  Here this last week she had two.  She had a real strong one on Monday, which seemed to bother her a lot, then she had another one on Tuesday," Cox said Saturday evening, "She was worried about going back and having these seizures."

 

On Thursday morning Cox woke Theresa up for school, then drove his wife Mildred to work.  When he returned about 30 minutes later, at about 8 a.m, he found Theresa's note, and a moment later, her lifeless body in her bed.  He also found his .22-caliber revolver in her bed with one discharged shell.  What he didn't find was a wound or blood.

 

She was taken to JPS, where doctors found a small wound in her temple, Cox said.  The teen-ager was kept on life-support systems until Friday, Cox said.  Cox said Theresa had never attempted to take her life before and gave no indi­cation that she was upset before her death.

 

On Wednesday night she talked to (her sister) Doyla Letta and one of my sons, Gary.  They were over here talking, laughing, cutting up as usual,' he said.  'One of her girlfriends had been down for a little bit, and they been out for a while.  I think they walked down to the store.'

 

On the back of Theresa's photograph, printed at right, she had written message to her brother and sister-in-law, 'To Gary and Darlene Cox & kids,' she wrote, 'Look now cause this will be the last time you'll see me in a picture.  Love ya, Theresa.'

 

Cox said he believed that his daughter's words reflected her dissatisfaction with how the picture turned out, rather than a warning of her troubled mind.  He said she accepted life on its own terms, 'She didn't expect much out of life--she was pretty content with what she had and got.'

 

Cox is not Theresa's father, though he is the only father figure she ever knew.  Her father died of cancer when she was an infant.  After her father's death Theresa was left in her grandfather's care until arrangements were made to place her in Cox's custody.  Cox, a relative of Theresa's through a previous marriage, became her legal guardian.

 

Cox asked that the note that Theresa left not be published, but he offers a general description.  She left word of her love for her family and a plea to understand what she did--if not why, 'It was just her way of saying goodbye and God bless you.'

 

Theresa will be buried at Azleland Memorial Park on Monday--the day that she was supposed to see her doctor about the latest round of seizures."

 

James Alvia Cox (C2/10.3), son of James Madison Cox (C3/4.10) and Amanda Lucinda "Cin­da" McCall Cox (M3/1.1), was born August 12, 1898 in Williamson County.  In 1901 his family lived in Menard, Texas and in the same year moved to Nolan County, Texas, re­turned to Williamson County in 1905, moved to Albany in 1906, farmed in Young County, Texas in 1908, moved to Round Timbers, Texas in 1909 and to Altus, Ok­lahoma in 1911.  In 1915, while living in Throckmorton County, Texas, his father was influenced to move to Weed, New Mexico to homestead land there.

 

James Alvia Cox (C2/10.3) was married September 1, 1919 at Cloudcroft, New Mexico to Mary Margaret "Maggie" Drennan (D1/2.2), his third cousin, once-removed, who was born January 31, 1901.  They were not aware of their relationship until his sister, Mary Al­nora "Nora" Cox Drennan (C2/10.4) began to research the family history about 1958. Mary Margaret "Maggie" Drennan (D1/2.2) was the daughter of Thomas Braxton "Brack" Drennan (D2/1.2) and Mary Ann Britt Drennan (B2/1.1).

 

In 1920 James Alvia Cox (C2/10.3) and Mary Margaret "Maggie" Drennan Cox (D1/2.2) liv­ed in Breckenridge, Texas.  In 1923 they lived in Ajo, Arizona, and in 1924 in Comp­ton, California.  He wrote his mother at that time that he was earning $1 an hour as a concrete finisher.  In 1925 they returned to Texas.  He was operating a service sta­tion in the Klondike community of Dawson County across the intersection from the gro­cery later owned by his brother.  He was shot and killed there February 6, 1929 by W. E. Duke.

 

A newspaper story regarding the shooting appeared in the February 7 edition of "The Lubbock Journal:"

 

LAMESA, Feb. 7--J. A. Cox, filling station operator of the Klondyke community,

fifteen miles southwest of here, was shot and instantly killed late last night.

W. E. Duke, pastor of the Midway Baptist Church, near Lamesa, surrendered to officers shortly after the shooting.

 

Both Cox and Duke are from prominent Dawson County families.  In addition to his ministry, the Rev. Duke is owner and operator of a store at Klondyke, where he and his family live.  The shooting occurred in front of the Duke store.  The Rev. Mr. Duke has been pastor there for the past five years.

 

The Rev. Mr. Duke would make no statement this morning concerning the tragedy

following a conference with Judge J. E. Garland.  County Attorney A. W. Gibson

announced that an examining trial would be held today.  No cause for the shoot­ing could be advanced today by Sheriff Joe L. Ray or Deputy A. M. Bennett of Dawson County.

 

Mr. Cox is survived by his widow, four children, one brother and other rela­tives.  The body is being held in a local undertaking establishment awaiting arrival of relatives."

 

He was buried in Lamesa Cemetery.  Mary Margaret "Maggie" Drennan Cox (D1/2.2) was re­married November 27, 1931 to Calvin Ship­ley (S2/1.1) who was born September 12, 1900.  They continued to live in Lamesa where they operated a taxi service.  Later they re­moved to Seminole, Texas and continued to operate a taxi service.  She died there De­cember 27, 1981, and he died there April 5, 1982.

 

Children born to James Alvia Cox (C2/10.3) and Mary Margaret "Maggie" Drennan Cox (D1/2.2) include:

 

        James Carlton "Pete" Cox    (C1/3.1)        born July 18, 1920

        Desmond Ray Cox                (C1/3.2)        born September 1, 1921

        Margaret D'Melba Cox        (C1/3.3)        born July 31, 1923

        James Alvia Cox, Jr.            (C1/3.4)        born December 1, 1925

 

Children born to Calvin Shipley (S2/1.1) and Mary Margaret "Maggie" Drennan Cox Ship­ley (D1/2.2) include:

 

        Billie Kasteen Shipley        (S1/1.1)        born June 2, 1933

        Jerry Mack Shipley             (S1/1.2)        born October 10, 1934

        Gary Paul Shipley               (S1/1.3)        born October 12, 1941

 

James Carlton "Pete" Cox (C1/3.1), son of James Alvia Cox (C2/10.3) and Mary Mar­garet "Maggie" Drennan Cox (D1/2.2), was born July 18, 1920 at Breckenridge.  During World War II he served as a hospital corpsman stationed at Ft. Bliss, Texas near El Paso.  He was married there about 1941 to Dorothy Faye Hitchcock (H1/1.1).

 

Following military service he became a doctor of chiropractic and developed his prac­tice in El Paso where he continued in 1988.

 

Children born to James Carlton "Pete" Cox (C1/3.1) and Dorothy Faye Hitchcock Cox (H1/1.1) include:

 

        James Carlton Cox, Jr.  (C-1/1.1)       born September 1, 1942

        Phillip Curtis Cox         (C-1/1.2)       born February 25, 1944

 

James Carlton Cox, Jr. (C-1/1.1), son of James Carlton "Pete" Cox (C1/3.1) and Dorothy Faye Hitchcock Cox (H1/1.1), was born September 1, 1942 in El Paso.  He was married about 1964 to Patti Burns (B-1/1.1).  Following a divorce he was remarried about 1974, wife's name Barbara.  He was an undercover narcotics officer, and received a debili­tating injury in the course of his work.  In 1988 he lived near Houston.

 

Children born to James Carlton Cox, Jr. (C-1/1.1) and Patti Burns Cox (B-1/1.1) in­clude:

 

        Kimberly Cox         (C-2/1.1)        born about 1967

        Kathleen Cox         (C-2/1.2)        born about 1970

 

Children born to James Carlton Cox, Jr. (C-1/1.1) and Barbara Cox include:

 

        Krystal Cox                    (C-2/1.3)        born about 1976

        Shannon Cox                  (C-2/1.4)        born about 1978

        John Cox                        (C-2/1.5)        born about 1980

        James Carlton Cox III   (C-2/1.6)        born about 1983

 

Phillip Curtis Cox (C-1/1.2), son of James Carlton "Pete" Cox (C1/3.1) and Dorothy Faye Hitchcock Cox (H1/1.1), was born February 25, 1944 in El Paso.  He was married about 1967, wife's name Lynn.  Following a divorce he was remarried, wife's name Re­becca.  In 1988 they continued in El Paso.  Children born to Phillip Curtis Cox and Rebecca Cox are unknown.

 

Children born to Phillip Curtis Cox (C-1/1.2) and Lynn Cox include:

 

        Kay Lynn Cox          (C-2/2.1)        born about 1985

 

Desmond Ray Cox (C1/3.2), son of James Alvia Cox (C2/10.3) and Mary Margaret "Maggie" Drennan Cox (D1/2.2), was born September 1, 1921.  Following U.S. Army ser­vice during World War II he was married to Agnes Kay Kidd Way (K1/1.1), a widow with two sons.  They resided in Ft. Worth where he was employed as a metal­smith.  No children were born to Desmond Ray Cox (C1/3.2) and Agnes Kay Kidd Way Cox (K1/1.1).  In 1988 they lived at Holiday Estates, Granbury, Texas.

 

Margaret D'Melba Cox (C1/3.3), daughter of James Alvia Cox (C2/10.3) and Mary Mar­garet "Maggie" Drennan Cox (D1/2.2), was born July 31, 1923 in Ajo, Arizona.  Her family re­turned to Dawson County shortly afterwards.  She was married August 31, 1941 at Anson, Texas to Elton Lee Gossett (G1/1.1).  During World War II he served in the U.S. Army in Europe as a tank destroyer mechanic.  In 1943 she lived in Lamesa.  Following his discharge he owned a refrigeration business in Abilene, Texas.  In February 1955 they removed to El Paso where he was employed in civil service at Ft. Bliss in refrigera­tion, air conditioning and pneumatics.  He retired in 1984, and in 1985 they removed to Brady, Texas where he died July 8, 1986.  He was buried at Ft. Bliss.

 

Children born Elton Lee Gossett (G1/1.1) and Margaret D'Melba Cox Gossett (C1/3.3) in­clude:

 

        Margaret Lee Gossett      (G-1/1.1)       born December 14, 1943

        Ronnie Keith Gossett      (G-1/1.2)       born December 17, 1946

        Elton Lee Gossett, Jr.      (G-1/1.3)       born February 26, 1953

        Samuel David Gossett    (G-1/1.4)       born June 22, 1956

 

Margaret Lee Gossett (G-1/1.1), daughter of Elton Lee Gossett (G1/1.1) and Margaret D'Melba Cox Gossett (C1/3.3), was born December 14, 1943 in Lamesa.  She was married August 31, 1961 to Wayland Wallace McCulloch (M-1/1.1).  In 1988 they continued to live in Seminole.

 

Children born to them include:

 

        Gregory Todd McCulloch    (M-2/1.1)      born July 4, 1962

        Shannon D'Lee McCulloch  (M-2/1.2)      born August 11, 1965

 

Gregory Todd McCulloch (M-2/1.1), son of Wayland Wallace McCulloch (M-1/1.1) and Mar­garet Lee Gossett McCulloch (G-1/1.1), was born in Lamesa July 4, 1962.  In 1988 he lived in Brownfield, Texas.

 

Shannon D'Lee McCulloch (M-2/1.2), daughter of Wayland Wallace McCulloch (M-1/1.1) and Margaret Lee Gossett McCulloch (G-1/1.1), was born in Lamesa August 11, 1965.  In 1985 she was a student at Texas Tech University.  She was married in 1988 to Guy Henson, Jr. (H-2/1.1).  In 1988 he was a farmer at Seminole, and she was continuing her col­lege education in commuting to Hobbs, New Mexico.

 

Ronnie Keith Gossett (G-1/1.2), son of Elton Lee Gossett (G1/1.1) and Margaret D'Melba Co