Obituaries

NED SWINDLE

COLLINSVILLE – Graveside services for Ned Swindle, 82, will be held at 10:00 A.M., Friday, February 1, 2008 at Collinsville Cemetery with Rev. Jerry Davis officiating.  Services are under the direction of Meador Funeral Home in Whitesboro.   Visitation will be from 7 to 8 P.M. Thursday, January 31, 2008 at the funeral home.

Mr. Swindle passed away on January 29, 2008 at Hilltop Haven in Gunter, Texas.

Ned was born on June 26, 1925 in Collinsville, Texas to Eber and Edna (Owens) Swindle.  He lived his whole life in Collinsville and he worked for Borden’s for 46 years.  Ned was of the Baptist faith.

He is survived by two sisters, Nedra Boaz of Denton and Dorothy Carney of Collinsville and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Eber and Edna Swindle; three brothers, Ty Swindle, Eber Swindle and J.B. Swindle and three sisters, Lena Belle Jones, Oleta Cox and Catherine Kerr. 

To sign the online registry, go to www.meadorfuneralhome.com

BERNIE B. EVANS

TIOGA – Graveside services for Bernie B. Evans, 73, will be 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008 at the Collinsville Cemetery in Collinsville with Craig Ayers officiating.  Services are under the direction of Meador Funeral Home in Whitesboro. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the funeral home.

Bernie passed away Monday, Feb. 4, 2008 at his residence.

He was born Nov. 30, 1934 to Byron and Oleta (Brannon) Evans.  Bernie married Barbara Simpson in Nov. 1991 and retired from E-Systems (Raytheon) as a mechanical engineer after over 25 years of service.

Survivors include his wife, Barbara Evans of Tioga, two sons, Kirk Evans of Garland and Mark Evans of Mesquite, a step-son, Craig Ayers of Diana, a step-daughter, Jennifer Brewer of Ohio, four grandchildren, several cousins and friends.

To sign the online registry, go to www.meadorfuneralhome.com

ANNIS MAE (VARLEY) FORD

Annis Ford was a dedicated wife, loving daughter, devoted sister, and terrific friend.  She was a gracious lady, and a very charming person to be around. When you talked with her, she made you feel special.    Annis watched over others in brotherly love, remembered others in sickness and distress, and cultivated Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech.  Annis was slow to take offense, was always ready for reconciliation, and was mindful of the rules of her Savior.

Funeral services for Annis, who died Wednesday, January 30 at age 88 at Wilson N. Jones Medical Center in Sherman following a bout of pneumonia, were held at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, February 5 at Meador Funeral Home Chapel in Whitesboro with visitation the prior Monday evening at the funeral home.  Interment followed the funeral at Macomb Cemetery.  Pastor Robert Childress of County Line Baptist Church officiated.

"She was a mentor to me in work in the church.” Pastor Childress said of Annis.  Looking through her Bible and her current Sunday school material, you quickly understand how seriously she took her faith.  You would be hard pressed to find a single verse not underlined. 

She was born on June 21, 1919, in Collinsville to Earl Andrew and Martha Audrey (Meador) Varley. She married Vernon Ford on July 7, 1938, in Marietta, Okla. They lived various places and in various states before settling back down in Collinsville in 1992.

Annis was a great cook, with an assortment of tried and true recipes she had collected over the years.  She often shared her baking with friends and neighbors.  Friend Carolyn (Rhodes) McGehee of Angleton, TX wrote “We were blessed to have shared in the many candies that Annis used to make for us as kids.”

Flowers and planting a garden brought much joy to Annis.  Cindy Whisenant shared “Mrs. Ford was the sweetest neighbor. I enjoyed our conversations when she was out in her yard. I will truly miss my Angel next door.”

No act of kindness ever escaped her gratitude.  Handwritten thank you notes and letters were constantly being sent out by Annis, even up to the last day of her life.  A neighbor, Marcy Adams, wrote “She was such a positive influence in my life, always had good things to say.”

Survivors include two brothers, Alvin “Pat” Varley and his wife Jo of Shawnee, Okla.,  Jack Varley and his wife Mona of Dallas; sister, Inez Houston of McMinnville, Ore., along with several nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Earl and Martha Varley; husband, Vernon Ford; sisters, Ethel Walker and Maxine Ring, and brother-in-laws Dick Walker and William (Bill) Houston.

Pallbearers were:  Frankie Jurecka, Marvin Adams, Barr McKee, Chris McKee, Rick Nichols and Ricky A. Nichols.

Annis deeply affected the lives of many people in all walks of life. The nurse who took care of her in her final days wrote “Mrs. Ford had a very special place in my heart, I feel honored to have met and cared for her. She will be missed so very much.... Nurse Diana”.  Annis was a remarkable Christian woman.  She let God’s love fill her heart, and it truly showed on her face.

An online registry may be signed at www.meadorfuneralhome.com