Edwin Walter Word Jr.

1922 - 2006

Edwin Walter Word Jr., 84, beloved husband, father, grandfather and uncle, passed away Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006, at his home, surrounded by his family.

Funeral: 10:30 a.m. Monday at Northwood Church. Burial: Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park. Visitation: 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to the Multiple Myeloma Fund at www.multiplemyeloma.org.

Walter was born April 13, 1922, in Higgins. He was a senior at West Texas State University in Canyon when he joined the Marine Corps in 1942, and soon transferred to the U.S. Naval Aviation Cadet Program. At the university, he was a member of the football team, Alpha Sigma Chi fraternity and Buffalo "T" Club and served on the student senate. While attending the university, he met Avanelle Hill of Perryton and they were married Dec. 29, 1943.

During World War II, he served as a U.S. Navy Air Corps pilot on Attu and Shemya in the Aleutian islands, flying anti-submarine patrols. He went on to the Philippines, where he flew a PB4Y (Privateer), a four-engine patrol bomber, and eventually flew runs into the eye of hurricanes. After his honorable discharge in 1946, he operated a GI flying school in Hamilton, where he taught more than 80 students to fly. In 1948, he and his family moved to Fort Worth, where he flew for the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. until 1952, when he was hired as the chief pilot for the Moncrief Oil Co. He was the Moncrief's chief pilot until 1996, upon his retirement from the cockpit.

Over the years he was a Mason and Elk and member of De Cordova Country Club in Granbury, Diamond Oaks Country Club and the Quiet Birdmen. For the last several years, his greatest joy was sharing time with his family, friends and granddogs at his Flying W Ranch near Granbury, where they enjoyed crisp mornings around the camp fire, delicious meals, spotting animals and birds, and beautiful sunsets overlooking the ranch.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, Avanelle Hill Word.

Survivors: Son, Randall L. Word and wife, Dana, of North Richland Hills; daughter Gaynelle Hopton-Jones and husband, Rick, of Dallas; daughter, Lynette Patterson and husband, Brad, of Keller; grandson, Christopher R. Word and wife, Brandy, of Mansfield; granddaughter, Kelly N. Word of North Richland Hills; sister, Ora Sue Young of Nashville, Tenn.; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.