John Clovis Oakes

John Clovis Oakes, of Groesbeck, passed away at Limestone Medical Center in Groesbeck on Tuesday, May 6, 2014, at age 96. Visitation will be at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday, May 10, prior to the funeral service. The funeral will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, in the Groesbeck Funeral Home Chapel, with Reverend Tracy Sims officiating. Burial will follow in the Oakes Cemetery. John was born on March 21, 1918 to Andrew L. Oakes and Sarah Jane (Jackson) Oakes in the Oakes community. He attended school at Fairoaks and graduated from Donie High School. John was a World War II veteran, serving in the U. S. Navy on the U.S.S. Cascade, a destroyer escort ship, in the Pacific Theater, and spent some of the time in Hawaii. After meeting his future wife on a blind date before he left for the war, and corresponding with her while he served in World War II, he was united in marriage with Hazel Maurice Goodrich on May 30, 1946 at Fairoaks. They moved to Houston and later Huntsville, where he enrolled in Sam Houston State College and earned his Bachelor of Science degree and Master’s of Education degrees. John as well as his wife taught in the Port Lavaca schools and then moved to Conroe, where he taught history and civics at Conroe High School. He served as principal at Sam Houston school in Conroe in the seventies, until he retired in the early eighties. John was always interested in current events and political activities. He also enjoyed fishing most of his life and traveling on family vacations. After retiring, John and Hazel moved back to Groesbeck where they both had family. They enjoyed spending time visiting with family and were active members of the First Baptist Church of Groesbeck, where he served several years as Sunday School Director. John loved gospel music and they attended many gospel music concerts and quartet conventions. He loved to sing all his life, having sung in a quartet in his youth. Even as his health declined in the last few years, he continued to sing parts of his favorite songs until the very end of his life. John was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Jack Oakes and Hiram Oakes; a sister, Christell Freese; and in 2011, his wife of 65 years, Hazel Oakes. He is survived by his daughter, Janice H. Oakes of Houston, and nieces and nephews. Janice wishes to express her gratitude to Jean Cox for the care she gave her father for eleven years, and the entire wonderful team of his caregivers.