Jay Dee (J.D.) Van Dyke, Sr.

Jay Dee (J.D.) Van Dyke, Sr., of Groesbeck (Davis Prairie), passed away at Groesbeck LTC on Sunday, December 2, 2018, at age 90. Visitation with the family will be held at Groesbeck Funeral Home prior to the services on Thursday, December 6, 2018 from 2:00 to 3:00 P.M. A Memorial service will be held at 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, December 6 in the Groesbeck Funeral Home Chapel, with Brother Richard Williams of the Church of Christ of Groesbeck and Brother Larry Wilson of the Church of Christ at Davis Prairie officiating.   Pallbearers will be J.D. Van Dyke, III, Jon David King, Jr., Joe Gomez, Brandon Truett, and Tyler Doherty.   Honorary pallbearers will be Kenneth Copeland, Joe Johnson, Bill Hughes, Russ deCordova, and David Hughes. J.D. was born August 14, 1928 to Tom Van Dyke and Lily Dale (Ferrill) Van Dyke in the Box Church community, one of five boys.   He grew up in the area to which he returned later in life to make his home. J.D. was united in marriage with Martha Mae Reeves on January 2, 1951 at the Courthouse in Groesbeck, and they moved to Houston where they lived the next twelve years.   J.D. worked for himself as a builder. The family moved back to Limestone County, making their home at Davis Prairie.  J.D. made it his life’s work and goal to acquire some of the land which his father had sharecropped.  Some of his land included the family’s Phifer Cemetery, in which his great grandmother was buried.   This cemetery held some of the original settlers to Limestone County from the Fort Parker settlers.      J.D. was a hard worker.   He worked hard to acquire his land, to raise hogs and cattle, raising crops of hay to feed the cattle and truck-farming to feed his family.  He kept the kids busy picking peaches from the orchard, picking peas, pulling corn, and loading watermelons.   Martha canned as much as they could use and he sold a little (cheaper than other farmers in the area), but mostly gave away the crops to anyone who would come pick them.  Some people left money in an old truck he left at the field.   But it was his nature to enjoy giving away the food.    J.D. was an outdoors person, as long as he could be working, and he even made work out of any recreation like fishing. J.D. was preceded in death by his parents, Tom and Lily Dale Van Dyke; and  brothers, Jack Van Dyke, Joe Van Dyke, and John Ed Van Dyke. He is survived by his wife, Martha Mae (Reeves) Van Dyke of Groesbeck; son, Jay Dee Van Dyke, Jr. of Groesbeck; daughter and son-in-law, Ladena and Jon D. King, Sr. of Groesbeck;  and a brother, Joy Rae Van Dyke of San Antonio.  He leaves eight grandchildren and their families:  Jon David King, Jr. and wife Robin King and their children Jackson King and Ryder King; DeeAnn Doherty and husband Greg Doherty and their children, Tyler Doherty and Tabitha Doherty; Jessica Gomez and husband Joe Gomez and their children, Trey Gomez and Teagan Gomez; Courtney Truett and husband Brandon Truett and their children, Colson Truett, Corbin Truett, and Blakely Truett; Morgan Van Dyke; J.D. Van Dyke III (Jake) and wife Sierra Van Dyke; Maggie Van Dyke; and Jamie Hardin and husband Bobby Hardin and their daughter, Maggie Mae Hardin.