star-telegram.com: Obituaries

JOYCE 'DOTTIE' RAMBO 1934-2008

Mon, 12 May 2008 04:38 CDT

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. -- Joyce "Dottie" Rambo, an influential gospel singer and songwriter, died early Sunday when her tour bus ran off a highway and struck an embankment en route to Texas. She was 74.

Seven people on the bus were injured in the wreck about two miles east of Mount Vernon on Interstate 44, the Missouri Highway Patrol said. They were hospitalized in Springfield with moderate to severe injuries, according to the patrol.

It was unclear whether the crash was related to the severe storms and tornadoes that hit the region Saturday. Storms also swept through the area later in the night, according to the National Weather Service.

Rambo, of Nashville, was on her way to a Mother's Day performance at Fountain of Life Church in North Richland Hills.

Fountain of Life pastor Randy Thomas said the concert went on with gospel singers Lulu Roman and Naomi Sego. The service was part of a ladies' retreat.

Rambo was represented by a chair, empty except for a bouquet of flowers.

"She was driving all night to get here," Thomas said. "They paid tribute, but they carried on without her. This was an appropriate day to honor a mother who left a legacy for all mothers."

Thomas said he met Rambo when she was a guest on a TV show he hosted in Charlotte, N.C.

"I grew up listening to her music. She wrote so many great songs," Thomas said. "A lot of her songs were about home, or going home and being sheltered by the Lord. She's home now. Now she can tell the angels how to sing."

Beckie Simmons, Rambo's agent, said: "She was a giant in the gospel music industry. Dolly Parton recorded some of her songs."

Parton, who performed Sunday night at Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie, sent condolences to "everyone involved in this terrible tragedy."

"I know Dottie is in heaven in the arms of God right now, but our earth angel will surely be missed," Parton said in a statement. "Dottie was a dear friend, a fellow singer, songwriter and entertainer, and as of late my duet singing partner."

Rambo was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame last year and the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

She had more than 2,500 published songs, including gospel classics such as He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need and the 1982 Gospel Music Association Song of the Year, We Shall Behold Him.

Staff writer Mark Agee contributed to this report.

Online: www.dottierambo.net

Bolstered by faith, she always stayed calm amid the storm

Sun, 11 May 2008 04:38 CDT

By Susan Tallant

FORT WORTH -- Lezlee Rene Stone was an advocate for patients, for families and for the nurses she worked with at John Peter Smith Hospital for almost 20 years.

Mrs. Stone, 43, and her 9-year-old daughter, Jaci, died Thursday from injuries suffered in a car wreck.

On Friday, co-workers described Mrs. Stone as extremely supportive, very fair, always composed and never ruffled. She was a caring and compassionate Christian wife, mother and friend, they said.

"She could handle any crisis. She was the calm of the storm," said Carrie Arena-Marshall, Mrs. Stone's supervisor and the manager of the intensive care unit at JPS. "She put out fires; that's what she did all day long -- crisis management."

Mrs. Stone was born Jan. 7, 1965, in Fort Worth. After graduating from Boswell High School in 1982, she started college at Texas Wesleyan University and finished her nursing degree at Tarleton State University.

Her older sister, Delissa "Lisa" Slimp, a Lipan resident, gave an example of her sister's faith and compassion.

Slimp said that one night on her way home from work, Mrs. Stone stopped for a man on a motorcycle to see whether he needed help and then talked to him about her faith.

"That was her passion," Slimp said.

Steve Morris, Mrs. Stone's co-worker in the ICU, said she had a calming effect on people during times of crisis. He said her close relationship with God was evident in her life.

"Her friends and co-workers have comfort because of that," Morris said.

Sandra Weaver, an ICU nurse and longtime friend, said Mrs. Stone's life revolved around her faith and her daughter.

"She would always tell me, 'Sandra, you need to get closer to the Lord because you never know what is going to happen.'"

ICU charge nurse Jana Palmer, who worked with Mrs. Stone for eight years, said she loved her staff.

"She was a great person to work with," Palmer said. "She was supportive of everyone in the unit. She always made me feel safe when we worked together."

Slimp said her sister was a nursery coordinator at Patillo Baptist Church in Patillo, where she was active in vacation Bible school. She was also an organ donor and was passionate about LifeGift, an organ donor program.

Mrs. Stone's daughter, Jaci, was born Aug. 29, 1998, in Fort Worth. Jaci, a fourth-grader at Santo Elementary, loved animals and was setting up a fundraiser for animal shelters. Mrs. Stone's family is establishing a memorial in Jaci's honor called the My Furry Friends Fund.

The family is also starting a scholarship fund in Mrs. Stone's honor to help a Santo High School student pay for nursing school.

In addition to her sister, Mrs. Stone is survived by her husband, Johnny M. "Stoney" Stone; son, Johnathan Taylor "J.T." Stone; mother, Golda Whitworth, and stepfather, Don Whitworth; father, Morton Gray, and stepmother, Linda Gray; another sister, Terre Bridges; and brother, Morton E. "Marty" Gray III.

Services

2:30 p.m. Monday, Patillo Baptist Church in Patillo

Funeral home visitation in Fort Worth offers reminder of life

Sat, 10 May 2008 08:01 CDT

By Bill Hanna

FORT WORTH -- At the visitation Friday for Billie Jefferson, it felt just like home.

Instead of being in a casket, Mrs. Jefferson was reclining on a chaise longue wearing off-white pajamas with a TV nearby. The remote was beside her arm.

"I came up with the idea because every time I went to Granny's house she was on the couch," said Derrick "Twin" Johnson I, one of the owners of D&D Johnson Funeral Home who is married to Mrs. Jefferson's granddaughter.

"I wanted her to go out in style, in a way that people remembered her," Johnson said.

Mrs. Jefferson, 71, a retired cafeteria worker with the Fort Worth school district, died Monday at her home in Fort Worth.

Her son, Fort Worth police Lt. Michael McCowan, said he initially wasn't sure about the idea for her visitation, but his son-in-law convinced him that it would be in good taste.

"It took me a minute," McCowan said. "I didn't want it to look disrespectful. It looks real nice. It just looks like she's sleeping."

Her son said she sacrificed for her family, sometimes by working two jobs, to care for her children and grandchildren.

She enjoyed her job at the Dunbar High School cafeteria because she loved being around her children.

She was at her happiest with a house full of children running around, usually with the TV tuned to sports. And if it was football season, she would probably be watching the Dallas Cowboys.

Johnson said many people are afraid to visit the funeral home and are put off by the sight of seeing their loved ones in a casket.

For some, it is more comforting to see them like they remember them.

In December, the funeral home had 9-year-old Trevon Williams lying in bed resting atop his favorite Spider-Man linens. A video of the visitation can be seen on YouTube.

For Mrs. Jefferson, nicknamed the "Queen of Candace Drive" for the way she waved at everyone who drove by her home, there will be one last farewell gesture at her funeral.

"I called her the Queen of Candace Drive because she had a wave in her hand like Miss America," Johnson said. "I'm going to put a crown on her head right before I close the casket."

Mrs. Jefferson is also survived by her husband, Henry Jefferson; sons Michael McCowan, Donald Scott and Shelby Scott; daughters Cathy Jones and Sheryl Scott; brothers Lionelle and Jerald Sams; sister Sharon Sams, all of Fort Worth; 18 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.

Service

11 a.m. Saturday, Allen A.M.E Chapel, 116 Elm St. in Fort Worth.

Funeral home visitation offers a reminder of life

Sat, 10 May 2008 04:39 CDT

Staff writer Bill Hanna reports, 15B

The visitation for 71-year-old Billie Jefferson didn't have her resting in a casket. Instead, the longtime Fort Worth school cafeteria worker was reclined on a chaise longue in a pair of pajamas with the TV remote by her side.

GAY FARNSWORTH 1954-2008

Fri, 09 May 2008 09:42 CDT

By ANGIE SUMMERS

Gay Farnsworth, 53, died Wednesday in a Dallas hospital after a three-year battle with breast cancer.

Mrs. Farnsworth was a first-grade teacher at Wimbish Elementary School for 30 years before her retirement in 2006. She was named the Star-Telegram's Woman of the Year that year. Several students sent letters nominating her for the award.

In her letter, student Lilly Bailey wrote: "I wish I could be a teacher like her. She came into the room every day with a smile on her face."

Her positive attitude and friendliness were trademarks, friends said.

Scott Murray, a longtime sports news anchor who now owns a media production company, recalled meeting Mrs. Farnsworth 25 years ago. They worked together on many nonprofit benefits, and Murray called Mrs. Farnsworth "the ultimate Mrs. Positive."

Murray said his sister died of breast cancer at age 38, and he recalled a conversation he had with Mrs. Farnsworth after her diagnosis.

"She was looking for all the information she could get and was almost apologetic about calling me," he said. "That was Gay, always concerned about the other guy."

Jeff Williams served with Mrs. Farnsworth on the River Legacy Foundation board of directors.

"Gay brought so many gifts to the foundation, such as organization, leadership, fortitude and hospitality," he said. "She had the gift to energize a group of people to work for a common cause while making each person involved feel very special."

Mrs. Farnsworth volunteered with several organizations and was known as a successful community fundraiser.

When she served as chairwoman for A Taste of Arlington in 1997, she doubled the amount previously raised at the benefit for Theatre Arlington and the YMCA of Arlington. She volunteered with the Junior Woman's Club, Dental Health for Arlington, the American Heart Association, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Camp Fire Boys and Girls, the Arlington Baylor Club and many other organizations. She was a member of the Junior League of Arlington and was chairwoman of its Holiday Magic benefit in 1992.

Mrs. Farnsworth received several awards for her hard work. The American Heart Association presented her with the Heart of the Year Award, the President's Award and the Distinguished Service Award, and awarded a research grant in her name. She received the YMCA of Arlington's Leadership Medal and was honored with president's awards from both Theatre Arlington and the Junior League.

As an educator, she was named Teacher of the Year, received the PTA Life Member Award and was an Arlington ISD Education Foundation grant winner.

In 1997, Mrs. Farnsworth was honored for her volunteer work by the Women's Shelter with a Legacy of Women award.

At the luncheon she told the crowd how important it was for her to try to make a difference.

"My mother always instilled in me that it's important to give back to the community, and I have tried to live my life that way," she said at the luncheon.

"There's also a saying that I try to live my life by: 'A living is what you make; a life is what you give.'"

She is survived by her husband, Gene; and her mother, Maud Gibbs of Glen Rose.

Services

Visitation is scheduled 5-7 p.m. Monday at the Junior League of Arlington's Center for Community Service, 4002 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington. Services are at 3 p.m. Tuesday, at First United Methodist Church of Arlington, 313 N. Center St.

EDDY ARNOLD

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:34 CDT

NASHVILLE - Eddy Arnold, whose mellow baritone on songs like Make the World Go Away made him one of the most successful country singers in history, died Thursday morning, days short of his 90th birthday.

Arnold died at a care facility near Nashville, said Don Cusic, a professor at Belmont University and author of the biography Eddy Arnold: I'll Hold You in My Heart. His wife of 66 years, Sally, had died in March, and in the same month, Arnold fell outside his home, injuring his hip.

Arnold's vocals on songs like the 1965 Make the World Go Away, a top 10 pop hit as well as a No. 1 country hit, made him one of the most successful country singers in history.

Folksy yet sophisticated, he became a pioneer of "The Nashville Sound," also called "countrypolitan," a mixture of country and pop styles. His crossover success paved the way for later singers such as Kenny Rogers.

"I sing a little country, I sing a little pop and I sing a little folk, and it all goes together," he said in 1970.

He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966. The reference book Top Country Singles 1944-1993, by Joel Whitburn, ranked Arnold the No. 1 country singer in terms of overall success on the Billboard country charts.

Nicknamed "The Tennessee Plowboy," Arnold debuted on the charts in 1945 with Each Minute Seems a Million Years, and began his string of 28 No. 1 country hits with What Is Life Without Love in early 1947. His success helped make Nashville an important recording industry hub, according to Sony BMG Nashville, parent of his longtime label, RCA.

Other hits included Cattle Call, The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me, Anytime and Bouquet of Roses.

DENNIS TATSUMI 1941 - 2008

Thu, 08 May 2008 04:39 CDT

By PATRICK McGEE

GRAPEVINE -- Dennis Tatsumi loved golf and working in his yard.

He had just ordered another new driver when he died at his Grapevine home Friday after collapsing while doing yard work. He was 66.

Mr. Tatsumi was a retired American Airlines gate agent, a dedicated grandfather and a popular figure on area golf courses.

"He was always the guy you wanted to have along," said Frank Dick, a friend who retired from American Airlines with Mr. Tatsumi in 2002 and kept in touch with him through many golf games.

"There was nobody that did not like this guy," Dick said. "He fit in with whoever you put him with."

He said Mr. Tatsumi's personality and dry humor relieved tension with upset customers countless times.

Mr. Tatsumi's brother, Ron, said that as Japanese-Americans he and Mr. Tatsumi were with their family in a detention camp in Idaho during World War II. Fortunately, he said, they were very young and did not remember being there.

Mr. Tatsumi enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s, and his daughter, Patricia Tatsumi-Ficht, said he never mentioned the detention camp.

"It was something that was not talked about. It was never a grudge," she said.

Mr. Tatsumi worked for American Airlines for about 35 years, his family said.

Tatsumi-Ficht, of Greensboro, N.C., said her father was known for his impeccably kept clothing and hair, and his winning personality.

"He always has a nice word for everybody and made people feel very comfortable and welcome," she said. "I've gotten e-mails from several people that worked with him at American Airlines that say the same thing; 'Your dad made coming to work fun. He always had us cracking up.'"

Ron Tatsumi also worked at American Airlines and said his brother had a good reputation there.

"They'd always say, 'Are you Dennis' brother?' And I would say, 'Yeah.' And they would say, 'He's just the greatest guy -- and funny.'"

Tatsumi-Ficht said her father traveled to North Carolina many times to visit her and his 17-year-old grandson Brandon.

Mr. Tatsumi, who was divorced, is survived by his son, daughter and grandson.

SERVICE

The funeral will be at 2 p.m. today at Lucas Funeral Home, 1321 Precinct Line Road, Hurst.

Baskin-Robbins co-founder dies

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:46 CDT

By ROBERT JABLON

LOS ANGELES -- Irvine Robbins, who as co-founder of Baskin-Robbins brought Rocky Road, Pralines 'n Cream and other exotic ice-cream concoctions to every corner of America, has died at age 90.

Mr. Robbins had been ill for some time and died Monday at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., said his daughter Marsha Veit.

Although the company advertised that it offered 31 flavors, in fact it has created more than 1,000 flavors, according to its Web site.

Generations of kids trooped to Baskin-Robbins stores to buy ice-cream flavors like Jamoca, Daiquiri Ice, Pink Bubblegum, Nuts to You and Here Comes the Fudge. "Frankly, I never met a flavor I didn't like," Mr. Robbins told The New York Times in 1973.

Some were short-lived and created to mark specific events, such as Lunar Cheesecake for the moon landings and Valley Forge Fudge for the 1976 bicentennial.

When the Beatles were to arrive in the United States in 1964, a reporter called to ask whether Baskin-Robbins was going to commemorate the event with a new flavor.

Mr. Robbins didn't have a flavor planned but quickly replied, "Uh, Beatle Nut, of course." The flavor was created, manufactured and delivered in just five days, according to the Web site.

Robbins opened his first ice-cream store in Glendale, Calif., in December 1945, using $6,000 from a cashed-in insurance policy his father had given him for his bar mitzvah.

HAZEL PERKINS BURNETT VERNON 1912-2008

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:27 CDT

By MARTHA DELLER

FORT WORTH -- Hazel Perkins Burnett Vernon was larger than life.

Mrs. Vernon, a Southern girl known as much for her colorful language as her large hats and glasses, was nicknamed Haze Doll for her nonstop whirlwind of real estate closings and arts events.

"She worked 18 hours and partied the other six," said Stephanie Burnett, her former daughter-in-law. "She was like a house on fire 24 hours a day."

Mrs. Vernon died Sunday. She was 96.

A few "Hazelites" will gather privately Friday to exchange stories and samples of Mrs. Vernon's bawdy limericks, one-liners and jokes. But the big party won't be held until her son, music producer Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III, returns from a world tour.

Mrs. Vernon donated her body to science, her friends said.

"She thought she could go on helping people while she was dead just like she did when she was alive," said Fort Worth real estate broker Paula Brittain. "Plus, she said if she lived that damn long, they'd want to know why."

Mrs. Vernon was born March 21, 1912, in North Carolina and worked briefly on Wall Street before she and her first husband moved to Fort Worth. She quickly made her mark in real estate and the arts scene. Friends said she easily intertwined the two worlds.

"If she sold you a house, you got such a bargain because you got Hazel with it," said Brice Evans, who taught her ballroom dancing 55 years ago. "Hazel integrated you into Fort Worth. Before you knew it, she'd have you at the symphony or the opera."

Brittain said Mrs. Vernon succeeded in real estate because she knew everything about everyone in town and the values of every neighborhood. And she didn't take no for an answer.

"If someone told her this house wasn't what they were looking for, she'd say, 'That doesn't matter. It's the perfect house for you. Let me write this up,' and they did," Brittain recalled. "She was a force to be reckoned with."

Mrs. Vernon was just as driven in her support of the arts. She once chastised a Star-Telegram columnist for publishing "anti-Ruta Lee" comments in an article about Casa Mañana. She received Casa Mañana's Melvin O. Dacus Award for Humanitarian Support and other arts awards.

Fort Worth singer-actress Betty Lynn Buckley credits Mrs. Vernon with arranging her first recording -- with her son. "It was one of T Bone's earliest recordings as an engineer," Buckley said in a written statement. "She raised a son with impeccable musical tastes who has won multiple Grammy awards. I loved Hazel Vernon. She was a grand Texas lady."

Mrs. Vernon also nurtured artistic interests in other young people, including the children of longtime friend Sharon Mays. The Mays children returned with "hysterical stories" about Mrs. Vernon's behavior at benefit parties.

"She always carried this big purse," Mays said. "At the end of the evening, the kids would catch her opening up and throwing food into the bag. When they asked what she was doing, she said, 'I probably paid for it. You kids can eat it tomorrow.'"

She was so famous for her colloquialisms that her friends could easily tell if a new acquaintance had met her.

For example, Mays had just met the mother of her son's friend when the woman quipped, "Don't run up a gum tree and stick."

"That was one of the unique things that Hazel said that wasn't a local saying," Mays said. "If someone used it, you knew they knew Hazel. It turned out she sold this lady her house."

After divorcing her first husband, Joseph Henry Burnett Jr., in 1959, Mrs. Vernon married Damon Vernon in 1960. They were married for less than five years but remained friends until he died in 1987, Stephanie Burnett said.

Mrs. Vernon's high energy level continued into her 90s, waning only after she had small strokes, friends said. But she continued to be impatient with anything that slowed her down, they said.

LEONA KNIGHT 1919-2008

Tue, 06 May 2008 04:38 CDT

By ADRIENNE NETTLES

FORT WORTH -- In her north-side neighborhood, Leona Knight was known for taking care of cats.

"She'd put food out for the strays," said her son, Eddie Knight of Burleson. "She was basically a good woman."

Mrs. Knight was also committed to her church and her family, making sure her children had the things they needed growing up. They fondly recalled how she always prepared home-cooked meals.

Mrs. Knight, 88, died Saturday of heart failure at a Fort Worth nursing home.

She was born Dec. 26, 1919, in Biardstown, in Northeast Texas, said Eddie Knight, 68. Her parents, Walter and Dora Self, moved to Tioga, northeast of Denton, where they raised Mrs. Knight and her siblings.

In March 1938, she met her husband, A.C. Knight, in Tioga, her children said. The Knights had two daughters and a son.

Near the end of the Depression, the couple became sharecroppers, picking cotton in West Texas, Eddie Knight said. They moved to East Texas and, in the mid-1940s, to Fort Worth.

Mrs. Knight was primarily a homemaker her entire adult life. When her husband died, in 1971, she oversaw several rental houses her husband left her, Eddie Knight said.

"She was a fairly good carpenter," he said. "She helped keep up the rent houses after he passed."

Mrs. Knight, who was Pentecostal, had lived in a nursing home near her son for the past five years. There, she was known for singing religious songs, said her daughter Wanda Namore of Lake Worth.

"The nursing home people talked about how she would out-sing the preacher and other people trying to sing at the nursing home," said Namore, 64. "A lot of times she didn't recognize us when we visited her. She might not have known us, but she knew every Christian song there is."

Daughter Donna Sprinkle, 58, said that when her mother visited her at her Grapeland home, the two would sing together.

"I have fond memories of her swinging on the front porch and singing," Sprinkle said. "She also made sure we were raised in the church."

As a homemaker, Mrs. Knight went the extra mile to prepare home dinners that "we loved," Sprinkle said.

"I didn't like bananas," she said. "So when she made banana pudding she would have a special bowl set aside, and she would pick out all the bananas in part of the pudding for me."

Other survivors include sister Irene Carrigan, brothers Oscar Self and Kenneth Self, three grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Services

11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Greenwood Chapel, 3100 White Settlement Road in Fort Worth, with burial at Tioga Cemetery in Tioga.