My parents, Oma Clay and Velma Gunnels, were married December 4, 1938 in Dickens, Texas. Dad farmed in the Wichita Community until 1953. Five children were born during this time. Jean was born in 1940, Dexter in 1945, Gail in 1947, Alford in 1949, and Johnnie in 1951. In 1951, a hailstorm ruined all our crops while Johnnie, 2 weeks old, was in the hospital with pneumonia. I will never forget how the neighboring farmers pitched in and re-planted our entire farm in one day. I remember counting at least 15 tractors in the fields. In the fall and winter, some of the farmers would go from farm to farm on Saturdays helping each other butcher their hogs.A drought in 1953 forced us to leave the farm and move to Merkel. Another sister, Kathy, was born the same year. Dad worked for an electrical construction company until an accident on the job led to his decision to return to Dickens County where he resumed farming. We farmed the "Judge" Brummett place in the Croton Community from 1954 thru 1957. Martha was born in 1955 and Patricia in 1957.
Dad worked for the Texas Highway Department from 1958 to 1964. Mother operated the Shamrock Cafe from 1963 to 1969. For the next four years they worked for the government boll weevil program and mowed for the Texas Highway Department. Then they operated the Phillips 66 Cafe for a year until Dad´s retirement in 1974.
Jean married Dennis Shaw and now lives in Hereford. Their daughter, Jeannie, married Robbie Harris of McAdoo and has a son, Craig. Gail married Larry Roberts and lives in Dickens with their two sons, Jerry and Rod. Alford and his wife JoAnne live in Granbury with their daughter, Lisa. Johnnie and his wife Karla live in Itasca with their daughter, Jodie. Kathy married Rance Higginbotham of Plainview and has two sons, Dustin and Jason. Martha married Clifford Shipman and lives in Midland with their son, Andy. Patricia married DeWayne Hart and lives in Granbury with their children, Glenna and Derrick. I married Judy Arnold of Spur in 1965 we have two children, Michael and Melanie.
.....by Dexter ClaySource: Dickens County History...its Land and People © Dickens Historical Commission; Printer: Craftsman Inc. Lubbock, Texas 1986
DICKENS (Special) - Services for Oma Lester Clay, 72, of Dickens will be at 2 p.m. Monday in First Baptist Church with the Rev. Robert Fields of Amarillo officiating.He will be assisted by the Rev. C. L. Atkinson, pastor of First Baptist Church.
Burial will be in Dickens Cemetery under the direction of Campbell Funeral Home of Spur.
He died at 12:20 a.m. Friday in Plainview´s Central Plains Regional Hospital after a brief illness.
He was born in Dallas. He married Velma Gunnells on Dec. 4, 1938, in Dickens. He was a farmer and a Baptist.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, Dexter of Abilene, Alford of Granbury and Johnny of Itasca; five daughters, Jean Shaw of Vega, Gail Roberts of Dickens, Kathy Higginbotham of Plainview, Martha Shipman of Midland and Pat Hart of Granbury; a brother, Benny of Clarendon; a sister, Juanita Rye of Brownfield; 13 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Lubbock Avalanche Journal, 1987
Services for Velma L. Clay, 78, of Dickens were Tuesday, April 20, 1999 at the Dickens Baptist Church. Rev. Robert Fields of Amarillo and Rev. C.L. Atkinson of Afton officiated Burial was in the Dickens Cemetery under the direction of Campbell Funeral Home of Spur.Mrs. Clay died Saturday, April 17, 1999. She was born Jan. 1, 1921, in Dickens. She married Oma Lester Clay on December 4, 1938, in Dickens. He preceded her in death Feb. 27, 1987. She lived most of her life in Dickens. She was a homemaker and owned and operated a restaurant in Dickens for over 10 years. She was a member of the Baptist Church. She moved to Midland in May 1997.
Survivors include three sons, Dexter Clay of Spur, Alford Clay of Granbury and Johnny Clay of Blum; five daughters, Jean Shaw of Vega, Gail Roberts of Dickens, Kathy Higginbotham of Plainview, Martha Shipman of Midland and Pat Hart of Granbury; a brother, Bud Gunnels of Dickens; two sisters, Opal Martin of Midland and Irene Jackson of Dickens; 13 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
©The Texas Spur, Thursday, April 22, 1999
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