Elva Wesley Willard

Elva Wesley Willard, of Groesbeck, passed away Saturday, July 16, 2011, in the Windsor Healthcare Residence, at age 84. Visitation will be Monday, July 18, 2011, from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M., at Groesbeck Funeral Home. Graveside services will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Tuesday, July 19, 2011, at Faulkenberry Cemetery, with Reverend David Snow of Shiloh Baptist Church officiating. Mr. Willard was born December 9, 1926 to C. B. and Lela Willard. He graduated from Groesbeck High School in 1944. He was a veteran of the Korean war, serving in the U. S. Army from September 29, 1950 through September 30, 1952. Elva was united in marriage with Doris Beard on March 7, 1951. After his military service, they lived in Houston where he worked for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company until his retirement in 1983. After his retirement, they moved back to Groesbeck. Elva continued to work as a mowing contractor, shredding pastures and mowing many yards in Groesbeck, as he enjoyed any work with tractors, and mowers. He was active in his work until he broke his leg in 2008 and became a resident at Windsor. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his wife, Doris, with whom he had been married fifty years when she passed away in 2001. Survivors include his daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Bo Bane of Groesbeck; brother, C. B. Willard, Jr. of Navasota; sister-in-law, Josie Plummer of Groesbeck; brother-in-law, Elmer Shepperd of Waco; and several nieces and nephews. Memorials may be made to the Limestone Medical Center in Groesbeck