| i. | BESSIE MARIE5 TOMLIN, b. 3 August 1921, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas; d. 2 March 1989, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas; m. JOSEPH SANFORD ROTHROCK, 18 January 1942, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas. |
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Notes for BESSIE MARIE TOMLIN: Bessie was a very sweet and caring person and active in the First Baptist Church of Mexia, Texas throughout her lifetime. She is buried in the Mexia City Cemetery alongside her loving husband. Notes for JOSEPH SANFORD ROTHROCK: Joseph Sanford (J. S.) was a meat-cutter by trade and employed by several grocers in Mexia, Texas through the years. |
| ii. | WILLIE ELIZABETH (LIZ) TOMLIN, b. 13 February 1923, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas; d. 28 August 1986, Teague, Freestone County, Texas; m. CHARLIE LEE JR. RYAN, 18 January 1942, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas. |
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Notes for WILLIE ELIZABETH (LIZ) TOMLIN: Willie Elizabeth (Liz) was a beautician, (now called cosmotologist), owning her own shop, and had a wide following from both Mexia in Limestone County and Teague in Freestone County. Liz and C. L. are buried in adjacent plots in the Mexia City Cemetery. Notes for CHARLIE LEE JR. RYAN: Charlie Lee (C. L.( was a mechanic by trade and in much demand because of his expertise and integrity. He was a quiet and unassuming person and a loving and caring husband. |
| iii. | HOMER WEBSTER JR. TOMLIN, b. 11 February 1924, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas37; d. 1 May 1986, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas38; m. MRS. CHARLENE PENNELL, 7 April 1977, Teague, Freestone County, Texas. |
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Notes for HOMER WEBSTER JR. TOMLIN: Homer was a large man (at one time weighed 415 pounds) and worked as a bar-tender/bouncer at several clubs in and around Mexia over the years. Later he was to become a dispatcher for the Freestone County Sheriff's Department. He was a very jovial and outgoing person and had many friends throughout the area. He was a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church of Mexia and is buried in the Mexia City Cemetery. |
| iv. | JESSE (LITTLE K) KNIGHT TOMLIN, b. 10 June 1925, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas; d. 14 January 1929, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas. |
| i. | FRED WEBSTER5 RHODES, b. 18 October 1924, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas41; d. 4 June 1990, Canoga Park, California42; m. RENA POWELL, 9 January 1946, Wedding Manor 3201 W. Pico Blvd LA, California. |
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Notes for FRED WEBSTER RHODES: After graduation from Mexia High School in 1941 at the age of 16, Fred W. Rhodes joined Olan Mills Studios as a photographer trainee and traveled with his team over several states and eventually was assigned to Springfield, Ohio. On 1 December 1942 he enlisted in the United States Navy and after boot camp at San Diego, California received training as a Corpsman in the Medical field, interning at Santa Margarita Ranch Naval Hospital at Oceanside, California. After training with Amphibious Training Units Batteries C and E, he was assigned to the USS APA Bowie for service in the South Pacific attached to the Fleet Marines and was in several island invasions. He was anchored in the Lingayen Gulf in the Phillipine Islands in October, 1945 after VJ Day and sailed to Sasebo, Japan after the peace treaty was signed. His final rating was PHM1c and he was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations Medal with 1 star, and the American Theater of Operations Medal along with the World War II Victory Medal. After the war and his marriage, he lived in Hollywood, Van Nuys, Tarzana, Reseda and Canoga Park, California. He was employed in the insurance and investment business by Western Federal Savings and Loan and Weyerhauser Corporation. After his death caused by arterio schlerotic cardiovascular disease he was entered on 8 June 1990 in the Los Angeles National Cemetery. |
| ii. | CHARLES KENNETH RHODES, b. 1 February 1927, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas; m. (1) JANYCE ROBERSON, 9 September 1949; m. (2) MARGARET HUSBAND, 20 November 1989, Las Vegas, Nevada. |
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Notes for CHARLES KENNETH RHODES: After graduation from Mexia High School in 1944, Charles Kenneth was employed by Consolidated Aircraft Company in Fort Worth, Texas, where he dealt with the experimental XB-36 which would eventually become the backbone of Gen. Curtis Lemay's Strategic Air Command. On 31 January 1945 he enlisted in the United State Navy and after boot camp in San Diego, California, was assigned to the U. S. Naval Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana for training as a Medical Corpsman. After his internship, he was assigned to the Lualualei Naval Ammunition Depot near Nanakuli, Oahu. This base was on the "seaside" of Kole Kole pass, the gateway to Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Field which was devastated by the Japanese on 7 December 1941. It was by this route that the Japanese flew on to Hickam Field and Pearl Harbor on this "date that will live in infamy". He was discharged on 29 January 1947 as a PHM2c, with the Asiatic-Pacific theater of operation, American theater and World War II Victory medals. After attending North Texas State Teachers' College (now North Texas State University) and Feather and Feather Art School, he began his career as a geological draftsman and graphic artist with Seismic Exploration, Atlantic Refining, Sohio Petroleum companies, and finally with Trunkline Gas-Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Company from which he retired in 1989 as supervisor for the graphic arts and reproduction department. |
| iii. | ROY BRUCE RHODES, b. 8 March 1930, Van, Van Zandt County, Texas; m. (1) GLENDA MAY SHAW, 19 March 1949, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas; m. (2) JOYCE ANN BROOKS, 13 February 1953, Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas; m. (3) JOYCE LORRAINE SANSOM, 3 March 1955, Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico; m. (4) JEANNE ARLENE BONDURANT ROBERTS, March 1964, Columbus, Fairfield County, Ohio; m. (5) GLORIA ANN SAVAGE, 12 September 1987, Livingston, Polk County, Texas; m. (6) SANDRA SUE HALL TREUDE, 5 April 1991, Houston, Harris County, Texas. |
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Notes for ROY BRUCE RHODES: After graduation from Mexia High School, Roy Bruce enlisted in the Army Air Force on 19 March 1947, and after Basic Training at SAAAC Field, San Antonio, Texas, completed photography school at Lowry Field, Colorado. From here he was transferred to Hamilton Field, San Rafael, California to await shipment to Hawaii. After arrival at Pearl Harbor aboard the USS Gen. William Mitchell, he was taken to Hickam Field for further assignment to Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, 7th Fighter Wing of the 7th Air Force, Wheeler Field, Wahiawa, Oahu as an Administration Specialist. It was at this base that he completed the College Level GED tests. On 19 October 1948 he volunteered for transfer to the U. S. Army Airborne Battalion for Paratrooper training at Fort Benning at Columbus, Georgia, and arrived at Camp Stoneman, California aboard the USAT Private Morton in December 1948. After completing "jump school", he was chosen to remain at the Airborne Battalion as Cadre in the administration field to process future classes of trainees. He was discharged as Sergeant on 14 April 1950, and was attached to the Army National Guard in Mexia, Texas on 9 May 1950. As a civilian, he was employed as a salesman for Holly Ranges and Servel refrigerators by the Mexia Gas Equipment Company. After the Korean "Police Action" started in June 1950, he volunteered for the U. S. Marine Reserve for immediate call to active duty on 30 November 1950, and was sent to San Diego, California and subsequently to Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California for combat training at Tent Camp #2. After being discharged on 3 December 1951 he reentered the Strategic Air Command at Carswell Field, Fort Worth, Texas, on 29 January 1952 as an administrator in the Link Trainer sector, training pilots in Ground Controlled Approach and Instrument Landing Systems. On 27 September 1952, he was separated from the USAF and began his civilian career. In January 1953 he was employed by Western Electric Corporation, the engineering, manufacturing and supply unit of ATT, which was to later become ATT Technology, then Lucent Corporation. He was engaged in the installation and testing of new telephone offices and additions to existing ones. In December 1973, Southwestern Bell selected 24 of the top Western Electric installation team for transfer to this company. Roy Bruce was one of this group, and remained with Southwestern Bell as a craft and later management employee until June 1984, when he elected to retire. After attending San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas to attain requisite hours in core Real Estate Courses of Real Estate Law, Principles of Real Estate and Business Communication for a Real Estate license, he moved to his retirement home at Lake Livingston, Texas in May, 1985. |
| iv. | CECIL C RHODES, b. 4 April 1936, Mexia, Limestone County, Texas; m. (1) NANCY ANN NICKERSON, 21 December 1957, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi; m. (2) ALICE MAE PAULEY, 21 December 1974, Livonia, Michigan. |
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Notes for CECIL C RHODES: After graduation from Mexia High School, Cecil entered Navarro Junior College at Corsicana, Texas pursuing a Science Degree, pre-engineering, and completed this course in May1955. While at Navarro he was solo trumpet in the band and was presented the Music Award. From September 1955 until May 1956 he attended Texas A&M University at College Station, Texas, furthering his education and spent the summer of 1956 as a "summer hire" with Western Electric Company in Houston, Texas. In November 1956 he joined the U. S. Navy's pre-flight training program at Dallas, Texas and was assigned to the U. S. Naval School of Pre-Flight in Pensacola, Florida. He received his primary flight training at Saufley Field and was sent to Whiting Field in Milton, Florida for basic training in the T-28, where he flew the T-28 for orientation, instruments and carrier landing training. While here he was playing 1st trumpet in the Naval Aviation Cadet Band, and appeared in the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1958. Advanced training came at the U. S. Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Beeville, Texas. Here he was awarded a commission as Ensign and earned his "Navy Wings of Gold" in May 1959. Being rated as Class One X-ray, he was one of the first six to go through advanced training command in all swept-wing single engine jet aircraft, and flew the Grumman F9F-8 and all F9F-8T transonic aircraft. He was then assigned to Fighter Squadron 23 (VF-23) at Miramar Naval Air Station near San Diego, California in June 1959. The squadron aircraft at that time was the Douglas F4D Skyray, in which he completed ground training and flight simulator training, but the Navy phased out this model prior to actual flight. To maintain flight proficiency he trained and flew many hours in North American FJ-3 and Grumman F-11F before being transferred to "Crusader College" at Moffett Field near San Jose, California. Here he trained in Chance-Vought F8U-1, -1A and -2. The F8U Crusader was considered the top line of fighter in the Navy at the time and was the first to be able to attain speeds of greater than 1,000 miles per hour. It was here that Cecil was inducted into Chance-Vought's "1,000 MPH Club". At this time he was assigned to Pacific Fleet Squadron VF-211 as part of Air Group 21. After further training, including carrier landings upon the USS Hancock, USS Bonhomme Richard, USS Ranger (CVA-61) he began his Far East tour on the USS Lexington (CVA-16) from NAS North Island in San Diego, California. This tour included Hawaii, The Phillipines, Okinawa, Guam, Japan and Hong Kong. The Lexington made a 2-page spread in Life magazine during this tour on readiness alert during confrontation with the Chinese Air Force near Hainan Island and the Laos crises was brewing Following the tour of duty in the Pacific, he served two years as a flight instructor in the Naval Advanced Training Command at USNAS in Beeville, Texas. He was released from active duty by request in May 1963, and attended the University of Texas at Austin, Texas in the fall of 1963. He began his civilian career as consultant, manufacturers' representative and sales agent at Sparkler Filters of Conroe, Texas, a manufacturer of liquid filtration systems for chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and food industries in August 1965. Here he was promoted to Sales Manager, Industrial Domestic Markets and worked with engineering, procurement, proposal and critical path planning for production of units. Clients included Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly, DuPont, Merck, Monsanto and others. He continued with Sparkler until January 19 72 when he was employed by Hydromation Company, Livonia, Michigan and served as Regional Sales Manager, Sales Engineer and Group Sales Manager. Here he was responsible for penetrating the petroleum procuction industry market for clarification of water produced from production sites with special filters using filter media of crushed black walnut shells. He is co-holder of a patent for neutralization and purification of metallic dust generated during hot dip galvanizing operations. He continued to live and work in Michigan until the "Oil Bust" of 1984, when he was employed as Sales Counselor and later store manager for Shreveport Refrigeration (SR Superstores), a specialty store for appliances and electronics. Subsequent employment was with Tetra Resources of Houston, Texas, handling field sales for water and wastewater purification equipment, Selle Alloys and Equipment of Houston, Texas as manufacturers' representative selling heat treating equipment, ovens, filtration systems and other capital equipment to engineering and construction companies. In September 1994 he joined with Circuit City Stores, Inc., in Houston, Texas and is presently (June 1998) in Lexington, Kentucky. Notes for ALICE MAE PAULEY: Forest Hills was previously known as Road Fork, Kentucky. Name was officially changed Circa 1985. Forest Hills is situated across the Tug Fork River from Williamson, West Virginia. Pond Creek empties into the Tug Fork which terminates into the Ohio River. This area of Kentucky/West Virginia is where the Hatfield-McCoy feud rampaged. There are many Hatfields and McCoys in the area and at one time the Ford dealership in Williamson, West Virginia was named Hatfield-McCoy Ford. |
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