Fannin County TXGenWeb
Mrs. Hettie Hall, Edna Madding Blanton, Velvan Melson

---

from Ruth Walsh

Sherman Democrat, Tuesday, August 9, 1977
MRS. HETTIE HALL (aka Mrs. Hattie Hall)  -
Leonard -Services for Ms. Hettie Hall, 77, of Leonard, who died Monday night in a Dallas hospital will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church here, conducted by Rev.Blake Dunagan and Ted Eaton.  Burial will be in Leonard Cemetery, directed by Taylor Funeral Home.
   She was a native of Cumberland County, Kentucky, the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. W.P. Ferguson.  She was a member of the Baptist Church.  She was first
married to the late Sam Brake; in 1926 she married Bill Hall (sic - should
have read Ben Hall).
   Surviving are her husband, daughters, Mrs. Ruby Minchey and Mrs. Helen
Smith, both of Leonard; sons Robert Brake of Stanton, S.P. Brake of Allen
and Tommy Hall of McKinney; step-daughters, Mrs. Bud Browning and Mrs. Sam Daughrity, both of Trenton; Mrs. Susie Horn, Mrs. Roy Hurd and Mrs. H.M. Nesbett, all of Caddo, Okla; sisters, Mrs. Bob Smith, Mrs. M.D. Garrison and Mrs. Henry Whitney, all of Lubbock; brothers Perry and Hall Ferguson, both of Lubbock; and Kirk Ferguson of Leonard; 17 grandchildren and 22
great-grandchildren.

(researcher note:  many records, including some of my own, have mislisted Hettie Ferguson Brake Hall's given name as Hattie.Hettie Ferguson's first husband was Samuel P. Brake aka Sam Pete Brake born 1895 and died in 1925.  Sam Pete Brake is buried in the Leonard Cemetery. At least one of Sam Pete's and Hettie' children's obituaries have mislisted his name as Sam  Ferguson Brake.   Hettie's second husband was Benjamin Richard Hall, son of John Franklin Hall and Josephine Evaline Blanton.
Hettie's children by S.P. Brake  were George Robert Brake, Sam Pete Brake,
Ruby Florence Brake, and Helen Maurine Brake.  She had one son by Ben Hall,
Tommy Glen Hall.   By his first wife, Ben Hall had Beulah Lee Hall, Zettie
Mae Hall, Perna Opal Hall, Mable Jewel Hall, Hazel Pauline Hall, and
Gertrude Eretti (Susie) Hall.

---

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, March 14, 1998
IDALOU (Special) - Services for Edna Madding Blanton, 97, of Idalou will be
at 3 p.m. today in First Baptist Church with the Rev. Calvin Gray, pastor of
First Baptist Church, officiating. The Rev. Norris Taylor will assist.
   Entombment will be in Peaceful Gardens Cemetery under direction of White
Funeral Home of Idalou.
   She died Thursday, March 12, 1998, in Methodist Hospital in Lubbock.
   She was born Nov. 25, 1900, in Eastland County. She attended Eastland
schools. She married G.E. Blanton. She moved to Idalou from Eastland County
in 1922. She was a member of the Dorcus Sunday School Class, Garden Club,
Home Demonstration Club and First Baptist Church. A son, James Marvin
Blanton, died in 1934.
   She was a homemaker, a land owner and an investor.
   Survivors include a son, George Lee of Idalou; two daughters, Dortha Faye
Rosson and Delma C. Herrington, both of Idalou; six grandchildren; six
great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandchild.
   The family will receive friends at the church at 2 p.m. today.
   The family suggests memorials to First Baptist Church, Box 918, Idalou
79329, or to Idalou Meals on Wheels, Box 885, Idalou 79329.  (research
note: -  Edna's husband George Edwin Blanton, Jr.'s father died in 1894
before he was born.  His widowed mother, Viola Teague  Blanton married James Moses Turner in 1895. Viola and James Turner moved their family  to Eastland Co., TX and then to Idabel in Lubbock Co., TX.  George Jr.'s  grandparent's were Pleasant McDonald Teague and Marshall Malinda Bradbury and Rev. Benjamin F. Blanton and Sarah L. Boone.)

---

Herald Democrat - December 2, 2003
Velvan Melson - Bonham -- Funeral services for Mr. Velvan Melson, age 79 of Bonham, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, December 3, 2003 in Wise
Funeral Home Chapel.  Bro. David W. Bradley will officiate.  Burial will
follow with military honors in Willow Wild Cemetery.  After a sudden
illness, Mr. Melson passed away Saturday night, November 29, 2003 at the
Dallas VA North Texas Health Care System.
   Mr. Melson was born December 15, 1923 in the Boyd Community of Fannin
County, Texas, the son of William Lacy Melson and Mary Annie Fogle.  He was a graduate of Bonham High School and attended Texas A&M.  While being the first family member to attend college, he was drafted into the US Army on March 3, 1943 and served during WWII with Company F 63rd Infantry.  Mr. Melson was a rifleman and was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Medal with one Bronze service star, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one Bronze service star, the WWII victory medal, a Purple Heart, and four overseas service bars.  He was wounded during the Luzon Campaign, July 8, 1945 and was honorably discharged, January 17, 1946.  He returned to college after his discharge, but his wounds disabled him from completing his  studies.  Mr. Melson married Marlynn Luann Hasten, September 4, 1947 in Bonham, Texas.
She preceded him in death , September 30, 1985.  Mr. Melson was employed as a nurse's aid at Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center in Bonham, receiving several certificates in his training.  He retired after 25 years of faithful service.  He was a Methodist.  Mr. Melson was preceded in death by a son, Steven Earl Melson, June 15, 1995, two brothers, Arvin T. Melson and Troy Melson, and two sisters, Retta Stanley and Oretta Nelson.
   Velvan Melson is survived by daughters, Teresa Cordick and Brenda Melson,
both of Arlington; brother, Oral Melson of Grand Prairie; sister, Lillie
Cobb of Lake Tawakoni, Texas; daughter-in-law, Cathy Melson of Dodd City;
grandson, Nathan B. Melson of Dodd City; granddaughters, Andrea Farris of
Waxahachie, Angelia Sprung of Arlington and Gina Marie Johnson of Winnsboro, Texas; plus one great-grandson and one great-granddaughter.
   Pallbearers will be David Hamilton, Darrell Hall, John Lindsey, Steven
Hall, Dusty Compton and Craig Eaton.
   The family will receive friends at Wise Funeral Home from 7:00 to 9:00
p.m. Tuesday night.
(research note: Velvan Melson was the son-in-law of
Alvis Dewey Hasten and India Crutcher Owen and the grandson-in-law of
Zachariah Roscoe Hasten, Jr. and Mattie Lou Arnett.)