Obituaries

Services for Joe Dean Allen, 85, of Grand Saline, were held Saturday, April 7, 2018, at Bartley Funeral Home with Bro. Donnie Herring officiating. Interment will be in Rodgers Cemetery.

He passed away April 1, 2018, in San Antonio. He was born Feb. 3, 1933, in Grand Saline to Arthur Elvy and Della Media Monk Allen.

He was a lifelong resident of Van Zandt County where he retired from Burns Security as Captain of security at Morton Salt.

Services for Bre Daley Tipps, 32, of Grand Saline, were held Friday, April 6, 2018, at Caney Creek Cowboy Church with Bro. Billy Smith and Bro. Donnie Herring officiating. Interment followed at Creagleville Cemetery with Bro. Homer Morgan officiating, under the direction of Bartley Funeral Home, Grand Saline.

She passed away April 4, 2018, at her home in Grand Saline. She was born Dec. 5, 1985, in Dallas. She had spent all her life in the Fruitvale and Grand Saline area where she graduated from Fruitvale High School, Class of 2004, and was a member of Riverside Mission Church.

Barbara Erna Babitzke, 87, was born on Nov. 24, 1931 in Lipscomb County and died March 25, 2018 in Grand Saline.

She was born and raised in the Lutheran Church. On Aug. 18, 1951, she married George T. Palmer in the First Lutheran Church of Ft. Smith, Ark.

She and George moved back to Texas in 1954. They resided with their daughters, Marilyn and Susan, in Abilene until 1968.

Mesquite was their home until 2007, when they moved to their Van Zandt County farm.

Ted Romine, 79, of Fruitvale, passed away March 26, 2018, at his home. He moved to Fruitvale after he retired from JC Penney in Dallas. Later, he started a hay bailing business because of his love for tractors and to keep busy.

He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Emma Romaine, “the love of his life” as he used to say; three daughters, Debbie Cherry of Collinsville, Ill., Darlene Johnson of Mesquite and Kathi Rogers of Taylor; sons, Ray Romine of Collinsville Ill. and Charles Sherwood of Allen; grandsons, Matthew Sherwood and Nickhlos Sherwood; granddaughters, Tina Armstrong, Brandy Cherry, Ashley Romaine and Brittany Sherwood; great-grandsons, Dustin Armstrong, Jason Littlejohn, James Littlejohn and Hunter Cherry.

Services for Steven Royce Huffines were held Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at Hilliard Funeral Home. He was laid to rest at Corinth Cemetery.

He was born Jan. 9, 1961 in Dallas. He had been a resident of Van since 1973. He worked as a master plumber and enjoyed fishing and hunting. 

He passed away at the age of 57 on April 2, 2018 at his home. He was preceded in death by his grandson, Brenton Lane Huffines; dad, Paul M. Huffines; sister-in-law, Kelly Lambert; and niece, Lindsey Williams.

Services for Joe Bill Grimes, 82, of Canton are scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday April 5, 2018, at First United Methodist Church of Canton with Rev. Adam Muckleroy officiating.

Graveside services will be held at DFW National Cemetery at 2 p.m. Thursday April 5, 2018, in Dallas.

He passed away on March 27, 2018, in Canton after a 21-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease.

He was born on Aug. 1, 1935, in Lufkin to Calvin Grimes and Minnie Hambrick Grimes and grew up in the Beulah Community.

Wanda Lee Renegar of Dallas passed away Feb. 13, 2018 in Dallas. Services and burial were held Feb. 16 at Grove Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Park in Dallas, officiated by Pastor Ted Kiser.

She was born Sept. 21, 1926 in Dallas to her parents, Josiah and Ruth (English) Barnes. A loving homemaker and helpmate, her life was enriched by family and dear friends all across the United States. She met her husband, D.D. “Joe” Renegar while living with family in Waco, later moving to Dallas with him where he began a very long and successful career in the communications business.

Services for Ruby Fay Morris, 87, of Canton were held Friday, Feb. 23, 2018, at Eubank Funeral Home. Bro. David Harkins and George Decker will officiate and Earl Sides is the soloist. Interment will be at Haven of Memories Memorial Park, also in Canton.

She peacefully passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018. 

Born on Sept. 13, 1930, her parents were Rufus and Christine Pigg Hauerwas. On Dec. 24, 1945, she married Frank Morris and they were blessed with five children.

She was a member of China Grove Baptist Church since 1971 and helped establish the China Grove Quilting group. Prior to that, she was a long-time member of Elam Baptist Church in Dallas. Regardless of where she attended, she enjoyed serving and teaching in her home church. 

Services for Deloris Wanda Lee Cleaver, 78, of Canton were held Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, at Eubank Funeral Home in Canton. She passed away Feb. 17, 2018, in Rockwall.

She was born June 14, 1939, in Des Moines, Iowa. She grew up on a farm in Missouri as a young girl. She married Clayton Cleaver on July 27, 1957 and the two moved around the country while he was in the military.

The two settled in Canton in 1980 after retiring from the military. She enjoyed watching baseball and soccer in her free time. She was a wonderful cook and had a knack for gardening. She was Baptist by faith.

Dr. Gene Wesley Hightower, 81 of Van went to be with his Heavenly Father, Feb. 6, 2018. He was born in Edom on Feb. 18, 1936 to Paul and Geneva Hightower.

In 1988, he married Lana Green and they have been inseparable since. He attended Baylor University on a basketball scholarship and went on to receive his Doctor of Dental Surgery, specializing in orthodontics. After practicing in Pasadena for four years, he moved back to Van and served patients in Athens, Van, and Mabank for 33 years.