John Thomas (Tommy) Smith

John Thomas Smith

Port O’Connor – John Thomas Smith, 72, of Port O’Connor passed away June 2, 2016. He was born January 22, 1944 in Mobile, AL to the late George Alfred and Beryl Lorraine George Smith. He was retired from Occidental Petroleum, was a member of First Baptist Church in Port O’Connor and served in the US Army.

He is survived by his wife, Brenda Joyce Smith; daughters, Renee Hawes (Jody) of Port O’Connor, Kimberly Raulerson (Erik) of Elberta, AL; brothers, George Terry Smith (Rita) of Saraland, AL, Harry Allen Smith (Gwen) of Chickasaw, AL; 4 grandchildren, Chris Raulerson and Erika Rogers of Elberta, AL, Thomas Hawes and Maddie Hawes of Port O’Connor and 4 great-grandchildren, Payton, Rylee, Berkley and Fisher.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Patty A. Smith and brother, Richard A. Smith.

Funeral Services were held at First Baptist Church on June 5, 2016, with Bro. Donnie Martin officiating. Interment was in Port O’Connor Cemetery.
Pallbearers were Sonny Cook, Robbie Hawes, Tom Ekstrom, Doyle Adams, Ray Roberds and Stan Taylor.

Honorary Pallbearers were Terry Smith, Harry Smith and Bill Thurman.

Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Port O’Connor or the Port O’Connor Library Fund.

Elizabeth Lee

Seadrift – Elizabeth F. ‘Sissy’ Lee passed away on Wednesday, May 25, 2016. She was born in Seadrift, Texas on October 19, 1928 to the late Melvin Alton Lee and Frances McCurdy Lee.

She was a member of Seadrift Assembly of God Church.

Sissy enjoyed working on the family land and she loved gardening, working in her flower beds, working the family cattle, shredding on the tractor, spending time with her family and especially her nieces and nephews. Sissy also was a caring and generous lady.

Sissy is preceded in death by her parents, sisters Dorothy Fowler, Blanche Evans and Naomi Simon; brothers Robert E. ‘Bob’ Lee, Grover Lee, Charles W. Lee, Sr., Melvin Lee, Elmer Lee and Victor Lee and niece Mary Nell Lee.

She is survived by her sister Daisy Lee Arnold and husband Edward; numerous nieces, nephews and a host of friends.

Funeral services were held on May 31, 2016 at the Chapel of Grace Funeral Home, Port Lavaca.

Interment followed in Seadrift Cemetery.

Sissy’s nephews served as pallbearers.

WA Henderson

Seadrift – WA Henderson, 81, of Seadrift, passed away on Friday, May 27, 2016. He was born on December 24, 1934 in Seadrift, Texas to the late William Adrian Henderson and Myrtle Rose Holder Henderson.

WA retired from Carbide as a Supervisor and Electrician after 31 years of service. He enjoyed photography, genealogy, and watching and feeding the hummingbirds. He enjoyed fishing and also enjoyed cooking for the family, reunions and church fundraisers. Later in life WA helped build the Pavilion for Seadrift Cemetery, and later helped obtain a Historical Marker for the cemetery.

WA is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Veronica Henderson; daughters: Cyndi Kuhn and husband Bob, Melinda Kerzee and husband Thomas and Michelle Adams; son: Alan Henderson and wife Sheree; brother: Kenneth Henderson and wife Marilyn; grandchildren: Josh Penland and wife Natalie, Jerry Kerzee, Adrian Adams, Quentin and Tristan Henderson; great grandchildren: Kennedy, Carson, Dominic and numerous nieces, nephews and a host of friends.
WA is preceded in death by his parents, brothers Robert, Larry and Roland Henderson.

Funeral services were held Thursday, June 2, 2016 at Grace Funeral Chapel, with Rev. Marcos Gohlke officiating.
Condolences and memories can be shared online at www.gracefuneralhome.net.

Interment will followed in Seadrift Cemetery.

Pallbearers were Josh Penland, Tom Kerzee, Adrian Adams, Quentin Henderson, Tristan Henderson and Bob Kuhn.

Honorary pallbearers were Wayne Daggs, Jerry Weaver, Archie Dworaczyk and Jerry Kerzee.

The family would like to give special thanks to the Citizens Skilled Nursing Facility for the love and care of their dad.

Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation and the American Cancer Society.

Friends of the Port O’Connor Library annual meeting will be held Saturday, June 25 starting at 9:00am at the First Baptist Church.

You are encouraged to come and hear updates on the progress toward building our new library.  You will also have the opportunity to renew your annual membership and enjoy some refreshments with other library lovers!

“Friends” Board of Directors needs your input and continued support.  Thanks!

Warior’s Weekend

Once again, this community has hosted a wonderful Warriors Weekend event for our soldiers. And once again, the outpouring of compassion and patriotism in POC is unparalleled. This year the Tigrett Team was able to house 507 people (# includes soldiers and their families) who drove in from as far away as Louisiana, Alabama, Arizona, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Michigan. However, we could not have done so without the help of our hosting families. Thank all of you who were able to donate a house or room to this event; especially those who were able to stay in their homes with the soldiers/families and interact personally. Many of the soldiers and their family members expressed their thanks to us individually, asking us to convey their gratitude to all those who sponsored their stay. Your generosity meant a lot to our guests, who were definitely amazed and often times overwhelmed!

Many thanks also to the numerous volunteers who made contacts, call-backs, and email updates, as well as the “runners” who escorted soldiers and families to the houses. Thank-you Stephan and Brandy Boriskie, Pat Perez, Mike & Eileen Faz, Fred Williams, Mary Jo Walker, Jim and Donna Vuichard, Stacy Brobston, Rachel Watts, Bridget Sprague, Mary Stewart, Leah Griffin, Bill and Belinda Tigrett!

We have especially appreciated the many stories that were shared with us from both soldiers and hosting families about their own personal experiences. Each group was unique and many friendships were formed or renewed during this special weekend. This year we asked the soldiers to share their stories on Facebook and many of them did. We hope to keep in touch with these families throughout the upcoming year. You can follow this group on Facebook at Tigrett Team POC Lodging Warrior’s Weekend, and share your experiences too!

We remain extremely proud and excited to be a part of this unique event, and find each year to be a learning experience giving us more ideas to make the families’ stay even better!

As always, a very special thank-you goes to Ron and Sherry Kocian and their entire support team for bringing this event to POC in the first place and letting us share in this unbelievable experience.

Sincerely,
The Tigrett Team
Housing our Defenders of Freedom

I am writing a letter to the editor addressed to the thieves stealing all the stuff in POC all over town.

I guess your parents were too incompetent to raise you to respect others people’s property? Or, maybe they didn’t raise you at all. Maybe you were left to fend for yourself in life.

Maybe you were raised by good parents and you just decided to become a terrible person, all on your own.

Maybe you got hooked on crank or speed; or whatever drug is popular now and you just need to fill that empty space in your heart with that substance and don’t give a crap who you rape and pillage, as long as you get your next fix and satisfy your own selfish needs.

Whichever applies, please take this as an open invitation to take your sorry butt out of our town and go find another town to suck all the hard earned items from.

We have had enough of your sorry behavior and want to get rid of your butt forever.

And, if you followed your family here, believe me, your family does not want you to stick around and shame them and embarrass them with your juvenile, selfish, hateful behavior.

Business owners and residents of this town don’t want to watch you tear this town apart, one fishing pole at a time.

We just went through a terrible ordeal with the MUD district and we don’t want a replay of another distraction in town.

We live here; we work here, we vacation here; we raise our kids here, and pay taxes here and we don’t need you sticking around to ruin our town’s reputation, just so you can buy another fix.

So, hit the road, losers.

You know who you are, and everyone else knows who you are, too, so be aware. Time is running out for your new “business” we call theft.
We are all now on the hunt for you, so be aware. Stay or leave, but get a dang job so we don’t have to support your habits.

Basically, be a MAN and stand on your own two feet and stop expecting us to support your lazy butt and your sorry habit.

Wishing you would leave town….
Concerned Citizen (not the last concerned citizen)

The Dolphin welcomes letters from our readers on any subject that is of general interest to our audience. Letters should be 300 words or less (with exceptions at the Dolphin’s discretion). Letters reflect the opinion of the writer, and not that of Dolphin Talk staff, and we retain the right to determine suitability for publication. It is the policy of this newspaper to promote area interests: therefore, complaints against local businesses should be directed elsewhere. Letters must be signed and include day and evening phone numbers, which will not be published. Your name will be withheld upon request, but anonymous material will not be considered for publication.
Letters to the Dolphin
P.O. Box 777
Port O’Connor, TX 77982
dolphin1@tisd.net

We cannot say “thanks” loudly enough to express our gratitude to all who helped us with the Warrior’s Weekend. We made over 4,000 breakfast tacos for the Saturday breakfast, and were honored to serve those who are serving our nation and some who have served with such distinction. Personally, some of us were so busy that we had no time to interact with our Heroes. The Chapel could not possibly accomplish this task without the help of many who provided supplies, donated funds to purchase what was not donated, and to put in the many hours of hard work that it takes to do something on such a large scale. Thanks sounds so trite compared to our gratitude, but it is the best word we know in any language. THANKS!

Hermano Jesse led our Memorial Day service. Having retired from the Army just a few years ago, he did an excellent job of helping us honor those who paid the supreme sacrifice defending our nation’s way of life. Without those willing to serve, the freedoms we enjoy would have been long gone and we would be speaking a different language! Thanks!

On Sunday evening, May 29, we celebrated the graduation of one of our own. Perla Resendez was graduated from Calhoun High and we honored her with an All-Church Fellowship. We enjoyed hot dogs – not the normal ones – and all the trimmings. We had a number of outside games and enjoyed spending time together as a Chapel family. It was a great time and we are praying for Perla as she continues her education.

David and Kelly Walker welcomed a daughter-in-law into their family on June 9. Their son, Matt, married Ashley at a sundown ceremony on Magnolia beach. Afterwards, the guests returned to David and Kelly’s for a shrimp boil and a great time. Mr. and Mrs. Matt Gee, we congratulate you on the beginning of a great life as one!
Our men joined with other men from this area for a great Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, June 11. We traveled to El Campo and enjoyed a “full meal deal”! Truly, the best part of the day’s activities was the traveling together and the time we shared going and coming from the event. We have these area breakfasts about each quarter, so look forward to the next and invite you to come with us.

Father’s Day is always special at the Chapel. This year will be no exception. Each dad present will receive a special gift – thanks to Marty’s Landing. I am sure no one could imagine what they will be receiving, but it will be close to what they have gotten the past 20 plus years! We will be honoring dads of all ages and invite you to come and bring your dad for our special Father’s Day activities.

Has anyone heard that POCO Bueno is coming back to our town? Yes, the Chapel will again be involved with POCO Bueno by accepting the donations of food and fish to be distributed to needy folks. Each year, many friends of the Chapel gather to help glean the donated  fish by cleaning them, bagging them, and getting them ready for distribution. This year the task will be much easier since we have a walk-in freezer. Instead of having to ice everything down until they can be transported, we will be able to simply put them in the freezer and distribute them as the need arises. Again we say thanks to the men from Fort Worth who came, brought the freezer, and installed it! It will make our lives easier. BUT, we still need help to get all this ready for the freezer, so plan to help, please!

We are also planning to participate in the Lone Star Shoot Out tournament and the Shark Tooth. These tournaments have also donated fish that we clean and package for the needy. We will need help with these as well, so please plan to help!

Our Summer Book Study is taking shape now. Pastor Joane has selected a very contemporary book concerning the persecution of many Christians at the hands of “Radical Islam”. Those who wish to participate should make contact with Pastor Joane as soon as possible for all the details by calling her cell at 361/648-4622. The classes will meet on Tuesday evenings beginning the first part of July at the Chapel parsonage.

You are invited to meet with us here at the Chapel. “Come, grow with us!”