Patsy and Willie J.

The girls finished high school at Spade. Pat went to Texas Tech for two years, then to ACC at Abilene. She lacked a year of finishing when she married Hollis Smith from Roscoe. They farmed a while, then moved to Pasadena where he worked for Shell Chemical Co. They had 2 children; Elton and Karen. After a few years, they moved back to Sweetwater , where Hollis farmed and Pat taught school. Pat had gotten her degree at Houston when they lived there.

Pat and Hollis were living at Sweetwater when Hollis was killed in a plane crash while on his way to Harlingen. Pat stayed on at Sweetwater for a year and a half, then moved to Dallas where Elton lived. She taught one year in a public school, then got a job at Dallas Christian School where she still teaches. She married Murray Stevens in 1989. They still live in Dallas. Murray is a retired petroleum engineer.

Willie married Richard Burchfield and had two sons; Jay and Mickey. They divorced in 1966. She was married to Richard Martin and they had a son, Danny. Dick works out of town much of the time. They have a home in Big Spring. He is a welder.

We have five grandchildren; four boys and one girl. We always say she is our favorite granddaughter. But we can’t say that about our great-granddaughters. We have five of them and three great-grandsons.


Jay, Vera and Patsy, one year old,
Two photos of Patsy and Willie J.

Our Marriage The Later Years