Another Earthly Farewell with the Death of O'Neal Brewton

Unfortunately because many of our parents are approaching the same age and stage in life, we may be faced with announcing more deaths than happy news, but that is God's plan.

With that, our sympathy is extended to Odessa Brewton and family on the death of her loving husband, O'Neal, who died on December 1. To my recollection he had had a fairly lengthy illness (I believe that he had Alzheimer's). Visitation will be held on Friday evening, December 4, from 5-7:00 p.m. at the Callaway-Allee Funeral Home (700 E. Houston Avenue; 936-544-2244) in Crockett, Texas. The funeral service will be held at the same location at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 5. Burial will follow at the Porter Springs Cemetery in Porter Springs, Texas.

Death of my Dad, Tom Richter

Dad to me, Tom Richter to you, died unexpectedly about 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 26, after complications due to a knee injury and other health concerns. Needless to say, updating everyone with this news is definitely too up close and personal, however, so many of you made an impact on our lives and that of my dad, so I wanted to make you aware of the visitation and funeral arrangements.

Dad was blessed by being surrounded by almost all of his family at the time of his passing. He didn’t suffer or linger on and for that we are extremely grateful. Dad made a huge impact on our lives and that of many others over the years. He was a good man all the way around, and we will miss him very much. We would appreciate your prayers, especially for my mom, as we make decisions and adjustments to a new lifestyle without his earthly presence.

Again, thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers on our behalf of our entire family. Your concern and acts of kindness are sincerely appreciated.

Visitation with the family and friends of Tom Richter will be on Thursday evening, October 29, from 6-9 p.m. at Forest Park East Funeral Home (21620 Gulf Freeway) in Webster. You may take the 518/League City Exit #23. The funeral home is almost immediately after exiting from this ramp, so move to the right hand lane quickly but safely.

The funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, October 30, at Southside Church of Christ (4110 Preston Avenue) in Pasadena. Graveside service will follow at Forest Park East Cemetery.

Jan McBee Called Home

Our dear sister in Christ, Jan (McCurdy) McBee, died on October 22 after a long battle with cancer. Please pray for her husband, Dennis, and the entire McBee and McCurdy families. Visitation will be on Sunday evening, October 25, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Jeter Funeral Home on 518 in Friendswood. The funeral service will be on Monday, October 26, at 10:00 a.m. at the same location. Jan’s obituary can be found at http://www.jeterfuneralhome.com/ under “Current Services” when they update their website.

The family’s addresses and phone numbers may be found in the Reunion Directory as listed below.

For those of you on Facebook, we have set up a Sun Valley CofC Connections Group. Although I’m fairly new to this, I think you can find and join this group via my profile (Debbie Richter Blackburn).

Family Members as listed in the reunion directory:
McBee, Dennis and Jan (McCurdy) (Dennis and Jan’s daughter, Amber, lives at home)
McBee, Chris and Josie (son and daughter-in-law) (Chris and Josie have a daughter but I'm sorry, her name escapes me right now)
McBee, Harold and Juanita (Dennis’ parents)
McBee, Rodney and Valerie (Dennis’ brother and sister-in-law)
McBee, Mike and Theresa (Dennis’ brother and sister-in-law)
McCurdy, Bill and Joyce (Jan’s parents)
McCurdy, Brent and Mary Ann (Jan’s brother and sister-in-law)
Shuck, Gary and Beverly (McCurdy) (Jan’s sister and brother-in-law)

On a personal note, Jack and I met Dennis and Jan at Sun Valley over 31 years ago. Jan and I taught on Wednesday nights together and she was also a bridesmaid in our wedding. They lived just a few streets from us in the Scarsdale neighborhood which had its share of "happenings" (re: gas leaks and/or evacuation from the neighborhood during storms). We were always checking out each other's house projects including waiting for the "stork" to visit our homes, and we loved spending time with them. A funny memory about Dennis is that he used to crank down the air conditioner just to burn his fireplace! Jack and I later moved to East Texas, and by the time we got back to Houston, they were attending Southeast, but we always enjoyed running into them at various restaurants, etc. Jan was a faithful Christian; devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother. Selfishly we wanted to keep Jan here and we will miss her, but she is now free from any pain. We are confident she is residing in our Father's house and basking in His wonderful love. May God grant Jan's loved ones peace and strength with the assurance that they will see her again.

A New Era with Facebook

It's been a while since I have posted anything on this particular blog, so I hope you and your respective families are doing well. The post is entitled "A New Era with Facebook" since I have now joined the thousands or maybe millions of people connecting in this format. I was told that I was waaaaay behind the times, so I have set up my profile page and have begun building my contact list. It cracks me up that I must send a request to people that I have known for years in order for them to confirm that they know me before I can add them to my "friend" list. Of course if people ignore your request, I guess that will tell you something in itself! Anyway, my purpose in writing is for all of you former members to connect with me on Facebook. If I learn how to set up a Sun Valley group on Facebook for you to be a part of, I will try to look you up if you don't find me first! Search for me as Debbie Richter Blackburn. I hope to hear from you soon. Oh, and please be my friend!

Another Sister Called Home

It is with heavy heart that I must tell you that our dear sister in Christ, Wanda Tyler, died this morning. She had been rushed to the hospital earlier in the week, but had suffered with many health problems over the years. Despite Wanda's weekly trips to dialysis, being in and out of the hospital, and experiencing severe pain in many aspects, she rarely complained and tried to always have a smile on her face. Wanda served the Lord's body by keeping in touch with those in need, and she would often make phone calls for the church staff when there was an important annoucement. Wanda is now reunited with her loving husband, Jim, who preceeded her in death just a few months before. Wanda will be greatly missed, but she is no longer in pain and for that we are thankful.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, September 13, from 6-8 p.m. at Crowder Funeral Home
-The funeral will be Monday, September 14, at 11:00 a.m. at Clear Lake Church of Christ
-The burial will take place in Stratford, Oklahoma

In lieu of flowers, the family wishes that donations be made to the Church Building Renovation fund at Clear Lake.

Prayers for Wanda

Wanda Tyler is in ICU at Memorial Hermann Southeast. She went into pulmonary arrest Monday evening (September 7) and the doctors did CPR. Wanda is currently on a ventilator to help her breathe easier, and they are keeping her sedated--asking that only close family visit at this time. Family has only been allowed to go in for very short visits so they are in the waiting room most of the time.

Please pray for Wanda, Alice, Gaye Don, John and the rest of their family in your prayers. Since the previous post was regarding the passing of Jim, their beloved husband, father, and grandfather to their children, you can probably imagine how difficult this journey is for them.

Jim Tyler Called Home

Our beloved brother in Christ, Jim Tyler, was called home to the Lord on Thursday morning, July 9. Jim had been moved to a care facility in May when his health began to rapidly decline. Jim was a long time member of the Clear Lake Church of Christ and was known for his extensive knowledge of the Bible. Jim was a faithful and devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and he will be missed by many.

Visitation with the family will be held on Sunday, July 12, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Crowder Funeral Home (111 E. Medical Center Blvd.) in Webster. The funeral service will be held at Clear Lake Church of Christ (938 El Dorado Blvd.) in Houston on Monday, July 13, at 11:00 a.m. Burial will take place in Stratford, Oklahoma. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial gifts be given to the church library.

Cards may be sent to the family at 15411 Tadworth Drive, Houston, TX 77062.

Happy May! (Mother's Day)

Can you believe it is May? Well, for those of you still checking the blog from time to time, I haven't received any news from anyone in a while to update you about, but you are probably as busy as I've been. I've had a few additional requests for the reunion packet (program, DVD and directory) but we still have a lot left. The reason for that: My original intent was to have enough copies to give a DVD to each family who attended the reunion. When we had to reschedule the date due to the hurricane, that plan fell by the wayside as we incurred double mailing expenses forcing us to sell the DVDs for $5 each. So when we plan for another reunion in a couple of years, we will probably still have reunion DVDs. They will be free for anyone who still wants one!

Whether you are celebrating Mother's Day this weekend for the very first time or too many years' time to remember, I hope you will have a blessed day. I know that when your children have a family of their own in addition to inlaws on the other side of the equation, it is hard to get everyone together for anything. I heard someone say that you should celebrate the event rather than the day, and from my own family and experience, that is absolutely true.

May brings not only flowers and Mother's Day, but graduations across the country and my wedding anniversary. This year, Jack and I will celebrate 31 years! Going along with McDonald's line, "I'm loving it."

Happy May to everyone!

Happy Spring, Storms and New Reunion Photos posted

I hope everyone is enjoying their spring so far and that you had a glorious Easter celebration yesterday. We were out of town and received a much needed but torrential downpour that lasted several hours. I understand that it only rained hard for a short period in the Houston area--at least just long enough and about the time that our church had planned to continue the service outside with the flowering of the cross, butterfly release and Easter egg hunt! Plan B was moving to the Family Activity Center for the flowering of the cross, having an egg hunt in the auditorium, and allowing the kids to take home a butterfly in a pouch to release later when the sun came out so all was not lost.

On another note, my mother in law and her sister live in the town of Mena, Arkansas which was hit hard by at least two tornadoes on Thursday evening of last week when storms rolled through their area. The warning sirens as well as those from emergency vehicles were prevalent for several hours making the situation even more frightening. Much of the city was without power and my mother in law was hunkered down in her closet until the immediate danger was over. According to the last news report I heard, three people were killed in addition to damage or total loss of property. Please be praying for all of the residents in Mena as well as others in the path of that weather system that went across that part of the country.

Jumping topics again, we've had a few more reunion pictures posted on the photo link. You can view these photos by clicking on the link located on the right side of the home page. There are currently 89 photos if it has been awhile since you looked to see who was there. By request, we are considering having another reunion in two years. We will keep this blog running so that we can relay any former member "news", but please keep us in mind if you have a change of address for future reunion information when the time comes.

My cousin, Sandy Mack, is completing treatment for breast cancer and recently had an MRI due to severe headaches. She found out this week that she has two brain tumors--one is operable and one is not. Her doctor is trying to schedule surgery ASAP in San Antonio. She lives in Boerne, TX. The surgery will be followed up with chemo and radiation. I'm guessing her to be around 47 years old and she was in the middle of planning a wedding for her oldest daughter, who is scheduled to get married in mid-June. This news is devastating and I humbly come to my church family and friends to uplift this sweet woman in Jesus' name!

In Him,
Sharon Rainwater

Daylight Saving Time: A Pain or a Plus?

This past Sunday it was time once again to "spring forward" for Daylight Saving Time, and I'm curious how you feel about this semiannual change. Although resetting clocks doesn't take a college degree, in our house it requires doing this for 7 alarm/wall clocks; 3 VCR/DVD players; 1 coffee maker; 1 microwave oven; 1 conventional oven; 2 air conditioner/heater thermostats and 2 wrist watches if I didn't overlook something. For me, Benjamin Franklin's idea is just a head game. Theoretically I guess I don't mind when we "fall back" and gain an hour because some days there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day anyway, but is all of this really necessary? I can see how some would rationalize the saving of electricity in having longer summer evenings outside, but now we have to use a flashlight in the morning and evening when we walk our dog. Because it is still pretty dark outside when the alarm clock goes off, it is extremely hard to be motivated enough to get up not to mention that it takes at least a couple of weeks to adjust your sleep habits with the time change. So the burning question is "Do you find daylight saving time to be a pain or a plus in your daily schedule/routine?" My inquiring mind wants to know!

WANTED: Family Updates (and Your Interest in Another Reunion)

Whether or not you attended the reunion, we would like photos and updates from your family! I know that I didn't have the opportunity to visit with everyone and I'm sure that others had the same problem since we had such a wonderful turnout. So please email your family updates/photos directly to me so that I can add them as a separate post rather than them getting lost in the comments.

On another note, I've heard from some, but would like your comments on whether or not you would be interested in us having another reunion--say in two years? This time, we would have Roll Call and not a formalized program to allow plenty of time for visiting and catching up with one another. We would of course have food, door prizes, an updated directory, and maybe leftover DVDs! (We still have Reunion DVDs galore! The price is negotiable if you are still interested in having one.)

I'll look forward to hearing from you either to receive your family update or your comments on another reunion.

Family Update from the Driskells

Here is a short update of the Driskells for the last 20 years. We moved from Sun Valley to the church in La Grange, Texas and stayed there 13 years—long enough for Len to grow up and finish college. After we left La Grange in 1999, we moved to Rockdale to work with the church there. After two years, we then moved to Spring Hill, Florida for four years. In June 2005, we just wanted to come home, so we came back to Texas. We settled in a borrowed trailer in a trailer park owned by a friend from the La Grange church. We helped her run the park for several months, and then moved to an apartment outside of town near Schulenburg. For about a year, Leonard went to work for Lifeline Chaplaincy doing PR work in the Houston area, East Texas and western Louisiana. Then a friend from the Rockdale church offered us a job managing this storage facility. We opened up in November, 2007, and will probably be here as long as we can work since we could not find a church who wanted a preacher who was 70+. We celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary on Dec. 21, 2008. We are members at the Elgin Church, where we had made many friends while at the La Grange church.

Jeannie, our oldest, is still living in Spring with husband, Joe. Joe is working at the same place repairing small jets for GE near Bush International although it has changed owners several times. Krisa, their oldest, will graduate from U. T. in May with a law degree. She already has a job waiting in Houston. Their son, Bryan, is also living in the Houston area.

Dennis and Tammy are living in Austin, but are divorced. Dennis works in the records department with Child Protective Services. Their two kids, Nathan and Nicole, are grown now. Nathan married this past year after graduating from ACU with a degree in artistic design. Nicole will also graduate from ACU, with a degree in counseling. I think she plans to stay in Abilene and may have a job waiting.

David and family live in Birmingham, Alabama where he is in administration with BellSouth. He married a local girl named Mary, and they also have a boy and a girl. David, Jr., the oldest, is in his second year at Harding. I think he has just decided to become a dentist. Sarah Jane is almost through high school, and also plans to go to Harding, where mom and dad both graduated.

Karin is living in Littleton, Colorado, with husband, Randy Chamberlain. She has one step-son, Ryan, who lives in North Little Rock with wife, Emily. Karin is an executive administrator with an insurance company. Randy is retired from the Air Force and works in car parts.

Len is a Chaplain in the Navy (as of this past summer) and studied Bible at ACU. He is stationed in Norfolk, Virginia for the moment with Kara and their three girls: Rachel, 5/Kindergarten, Bethany, 3, and Naomi, 8 months, who just learned to crawl. Len will be shipping out in April in a Destroyer with approximately 250 men/women to minister to. Please keep him and his girls in your prayers.

Reunion Recap

The long awaited day has come and gone, and after debriefing everyone, I can get back to the regular posts of sharing family updates or other information. First and foremost, THANK YOU for your attendance once again and for being a part of our special celebration. From the many compliments, cards, and calls I have received, it seems the majority of you had a wonderful time and that is thanks enough for me and for those who helped plan the event. Of course the one thing that we all could have done without was the construction and traffic nightmare on the freeway and surrounding roads. Did any of you just give up and go back home?

Attendance: By our registration count, we ended up having 270 people who stayed the course, endured the traffic frustration and finally arrived at the church. I wish that I would have had the opportunity to visit with each and every one of you and that we would have been able to officially have Roll Call but since we got a late start, you will at least find a list of those that attended at the end of this post.

DVDs/Directories/Programs: We still have plenty of these items available if you forgot to get your copies. If you weren't able to attend, maybe having a copy of these materials would be the next best thing to being there. The DVD includes two photo shows: 1) "My Favorite Things" was a sing along slide show because one of the reasons why we had the reunion in the first place was because we aren't getting any younger. My comment was that if this presentation wasn't already too up close and personal for you, it would be one day! We rewrote the words from the original song from the "Sound of Music" and it was led by some of Sun Valley's former song leaders and/or those who were "Sound of Music" fans. 2) the Reunion slide show is a 16 minute presentation which broadly covers the years 1961-1997 in addition to current day photos of "Sun Valley." We really would like everyone to have a DVD that wants one. We had hoped to give everyone in attendance a free one, but when we had to postpone and reschedule, we weren't able to extend that offer since we then had double postage and mailing expenses. Although we are unable to refund any money, DVDs are $5 each unless you were not able to attend and had already made a previous donation to cover that cost. Email me if you are interested in getting a DVD.

Photos from the Reunion: I have set up a new link on the right side of this home page to view photos from the reunion all in one place. I encourage you to set up a free Shutterfly account with your email address and a password to upload and share any photos you may have taken. I'm not sure if this is the easiest way, but we'll try it. You can order prints from any of the photos and even add comments. Check it out. If you only have a few photos and don't want to set up an account, email them to me and I'll upload them.

And now for Roll Call. How many of these people did you talk to? Who did we miss?

Pam Aaron
Jean (Priestley) and Gary Adams and son, John
Lucille and Lynn Adams
Karen (Vinson) Aldridge
Lucretia and Robert Alexander
Marilyn and Jack Arnold
Mark Arnold and sons, Joshua and Samuel
Leita Rue Baten
Donna and Al Bayer
Marijane and Dale Beene and sons, Tyler and Dakota
Delwin Beene
Dorothy Beene
Gail and Ken Berry
Brittnie and Brandon Blackburn
Debbie (Richter) and Jack Blackburn
Jamie and Jay Blackburn and son, Josiah
Diana and Rick Bradshaw
Odessa Brewton and grandson, Michael Smith
Sharon and Tim Brinthaupt and children, Kristyn, Trentyn and Mikayla
Paula (Zoet) Brown
Leslie (Everett) Buffington
Cheryl (Gibbons) Burke
Sue and Don Burke
Pat Burke and sister, Billie Coleman
Lori and Terry Burke and daughter, Emma
Tena and Steve Bynum
Candy (Jones) Campise
Barbie (Cooper) and David Carlisle
Roy Carlisle
Norma Carter
Alice Cooper
Jackie and John Cooper and sons, J.C., Cody, Tommylee and Dakota
Euvonne (Davis) and Johnny Cooper
Jordan Cooper and friend, Stormy Tucker
Blake (White) and Brett Cross and daughter, Lily
Nancy Darland
Cammie (Everett) and Randy Doyal
Paula (Wynn) and Mike Drachenberg and daughter, Lauri
Leonard Driskell
Elaine Ebersole and son, Rowland Craig
Ruby and Johnnie Eddins
Diana (Mayhew) Eignus and her mother, Nadine Cochran
Lauri (Campbell) Enocksen
Alan Evans
Linda (Adams) and Greg Fabian and son, Matthew
Cindy (Day) Fletcher
Brenda (Richter) Flewellen
Staci (Burke) Flury and children, Melissa and Nathan
Glenda and Cliff Fridge
Margie (Morris) and Morris Fulks
Sharon (Brinthaupt) and Jack Galbreath. Daughter, Heather and grandson, Kaleb
Kathy and Gary Gibbons
Thelma and Lindsay Gibbons
Holly (Campbell) and Randy Gibbons and children, Benjamin and Justin
Karen (Aven) and Dave Gibson
Jo Gremillion
Paula (Day) Guillory
Dolly and Tony Gullo
Sharon and Dale Haines
Dianne and Garry Henderson
Carolyn Hicks
Pat and Ron Hill
Loyce (Grubbs) Horn
Betty and J.R. Hunt and son, Jay
Marsha and Joe Ickes
Sandy and Tom Jennings
Barbara and Marion John
Barbara and Les Johnson
Mary and Jack Jones
Kelsi (Aaron) Kenney and children, Karlee and Kylee
Lea and Jim Kimbrell
Gretchen and Brent King
Cristen and Jason Kirksey
Virginia and Jerrel Kirksey
Debi (Baten) and Mike Kirksey
Allison and Ryan Kirksey and daughter, Jordan
Annie and Everett Laas
Lavern and Allan Landin
Laura (Alexander) Magers
Chet Marston
Rebecca (Johnson) and Patrick McArdle. Children, Christopher & Timothy and grandson, Skyler
Jan (McCurdy) and Dennis McBee and granddaughter, Aubrey
Juanita and Harold McBee
Mike McBee
Joyce and Bill McCurdy
Diane (Landin) McDowell
Carolyn (Johnson) and Bill McFadden
Gloria and Brooks McKelroy
Pam and Keith Medford
Kelly and Darryl Morris and daughter, Kendra
Diane and Ronnie Morris and sons, Matthew and Jonathan
Dorris (Evans) Mosley
Terrie (Morris) Nichols
Sandra Niemeyer
Carol Northam
Kim (Roll) Padgett
Lillie Pearce
Janice (Priestley) Pearson
Phyllis (Grubbs) and Charles Powell
Billie (Everett) Preston
Eugene Priestley
Sharon and Randy Rainwater and grandson, Lincoln
Holly (Baten) and Ismael Ramirez
Loraine and James Ray
Jean Rhodes
Mary and Gary Richards
Johnnie Richey
Betty and Tom Richter
Linda (Gullo) Rodriguez
Millie Root
Jeraine Root
Joanne and Ronald Rusch
Ashley (White) and Ronnie Seals and daughter, Evie
Richard Sharp
Barbara and Herbert Shepherd
Brenda (Wells) and Kirk Shirk and children, Daniel, Emily Duet and Emily Shirk
Bobbie and Stacy Shott
Susan (Brewton) Smith and Haley
Dorothy Solomon
Karen (Burke) and Lyndall Stubblefield and children, Kendall and Kinsey
Helen and Boyce Tate
Bonnie and Marvin Vantrease and daughter, Marcie
Karl Vinson
Holly and Kent Vinson and sons, Matthew and Mark
Marilyn Vinson
Carolyn and Glenn Wells
Ryan Wells
Bonnie and Lance White
Marian and Jerry Williams
Billie and Raymond Williams
Nelda (Campbell) Winkler
Dora and Lester Wynn
Doug Young

Again, thank you for a wonderful day.