Obituary of G.W. Duckworth

Funeral services for G.W. Duckworth, 91, of Sulphur Springs, will be held on Wednesday, July 6, at West Oaks Funeral Home Chapel in Sulphur Springs at 10:00 a.m., with the Rev. Brian Bosworth officiating. Burial will immediately follow at the Miller Grove Cemetery with Dwayne Garrett, James Watts, Lewis Dean Watts, Clint Lennon, Bobby Middleton, and Danny Durham serving as pallbearers. Visitation will be at the West Oaks Funeral Home on Tuesday evening, July 5, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Mr. Duckworth passed away on Sunday, July 3, at the Colonial Lodge Assisted Living Center, in McKinney, Texas. He was born in Greenview Community, Hopkins County, Texas on January 25, 1920. Mr. Duckworth married Lillie Faye Renshaw on June 21, 1941, and served in WWII as a Staff Sergeant in the Army Air Corp in the Pacific Theater from 1943 until the warÂ’s end. He attended Paris Jr. College and earned a BS and an MA from ETSC. Mr. Duckworth was an educator and coached basketball in Golden, Miller Grove, and Saltillo, Texas. He taught and was principal at Houston Elementary School, and was named the first principal at Bowie Elementary School, both in Sulphur Springs, Texas. He retired as Director of Elementary Education of Sulphur Springs ISD in 1976. He was highly respected in the community as a man of great integrity. Mr. Duckworth is survived by his son, Col. (USAF Ret.) Johnny D. Duckworth, of McKinney, daughter-in-law Jeannine, two grandsons, Kevin, of Dallas, and Matthew, of Minturn, CO, and great-grandson, Matthew Ayden, also of Minturn, CO; one sister, Thalia Wilemon, of Ft. Worth; three nieces, Claire Minter, Carolyn Moore, and Claudine Dixon; and two nephews, Jerry Wilemon and Mike Wilemon. He is preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Lillie Faye; parents, George A. Duckworth and Cynthia Attice Parkins Duckworth; two brothers, Argus Duckworth and Otha Duckworth, and one sister, Lois Johnson. Arrangements are under the direction of West Oaks Funeral Home. www.westoaksfuneralhome.com