Wesley Monroe Roddy (Plainview)

Wesley Monroe Roddy lost a brief battle with cancer on May 27, 2015 at the age of 96. Services will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Hale Center, Texas Tuesday, June 2nd at 1:00 PM with interment following at the Hale Center Cemetery in Hale Center, Texas. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Kornerstone Funeral Directors in Plainview, Texas. Wesley was born May 12, 1919 in Burleson, Texas, the son of Lorena Elizabeth Gordon Roddy and John Milton Roddy. As a child, Wesley spent many summer months at his Granddaddy Roddy's farm in Burleson. He dreamed of becoming a cowboy as he rode Old Button and drove a mule team to Burleson to get ice. Wesley graduated from Polytechnic High School in Fort Worth and Texas Tech University in 1941 with a degree in Animal Husbandry. While at Texas Tech, he met Gertrude "Trudy" Crouch. They married on June 25, 1943 at her home in Dallas, Texas. Wesley farmed and milked dairy cattle until he enlisted in the Merchant Marines. At the conclusion of World War II, he returned to ranching and farming in various West Texas communities. He and Trudy moved to a ranch near LaJunta, Colorado, in the 1950's and spent five years in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia from 1970 to 1975, but Hale Center was always "home". Wesley was a long-time member of the First United Methodist Church of Hale Center where he sang in the choir and served on numerous boards and committees. The monthly Sunday night pot luck dinner and hymn sing were some of his favorite activities. He was a founding member of the "Flying Farmers" and the Hale Center Roping Club. He served as a school board member and was active in the local Masonic Lodge, achieving the Golden Trowel Award as a 32nd degree Mason. Wesley's children have vivid memories of him singing hymns with the radio in his truck and reciting humorous rhymes. In a 2006 family Christmas letter, he mused: "When I was 16 years old, I bought my first car, a Model T Ford. Since that time, I have owned a Model A Ford, numerous cars, pick-ups, and trucks. At various times I have owned three boats, three airplanes, and one motorcycle, a one cylinder Indian Scout. Of numerous horses I have owned, I would like to mention Old Easter, Dandy, and Spud who, being here on earth, made a happy life for several people." In closing, he recited a little poem that reminded him of his Granddaddy Roddy: I eat my peas with honey; I've done it all my life. It makes the peas taste funny, but it keeps them on my knife! Wesley is survived by his daughters: Mary Lynn Brown (Bryan William Brown), Peggy Ann Morris (Marvin Ray Morris), and Cynthia Sue Ferguson (Burt Wayne Ferguson); seven grandchildren: Kimberley Margaret Wilson, Bryan Wesley Brown, Nancy Elizabeth Brown, Margaret Rebecca Ennis, Patricia Renee Morris, Kerri Lee Stampes, Ryan Christopher Ferguson, and eleven great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, his sisters, Ann Elizabeth Maguire and Lorena Eloise McCray, and his wife of 58 years, Trudy. Wesley’s daughters wish to give special thanks to Eva Vara and her family for their love and care of Wesley and Trudy. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the First United Methodist Church in Hale Center. Online condolences can be made at kornerstonefunerals.com