Robert H Ayers

Mary D. Ashley Wittenbach

Mary D. Ashley Wittenbach, 80, passed from this life on June 22, 2011 to her heavenly life.

Funeral Services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 25, 2011 in Lunn’s Colonial Chapel on Midwestern Parkway, Wichita Falls, Texas with Charles Nichols, pastor of Hillside Baptist Church in Electra officiating. Burial will follow at Eastview Memorial Cemetery, Vernon, Texas on the Ashley plot.

Mary was born January 21, 1931 at Oklaunion, TX. She graduated from Vernon High School in 1948 and received her B.S. Degree from North Texas State University in Denton, TX in 1952. Mary was an accomplished seamstress and quilter. She worked as a paralegal for many years for McKelvey & Hayers, Attorneys and retired from C. E. Natco Mfg. Co. in Electra in 1987. Mary was a member of the First Baptist Church and the Joy class in Wichita Falls, TX.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, four brothers and husband, Robert B. (Bob) Wittenbach. She is survived by her beloved daughters , Jo Beth Klas and husband, John, of Bedford, TX and Amy Wheat of Wichita Falls, TX; granddaughter, Ashley Blakley Payne of Wichita Falls, two great grandsons, Blake and Tyler Payne of Wichita Falls and father Walter Payne, one sister, Fleeta Barron of Twin Falls, ID and other family members and close friends.

Visitation will be Friday evening from 7-8 p.m. at Lunn’s Colonial Funeral Home.

Memorials may be made to Hospice of WF, P.O. Box 4804, Wichita Falls, TX 76308 or to First Baptist Satellite Church at Sheppard, 1200 Ninth Street, WF, Texas 76301.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.lunnscolonial.com.

Statement of Belief and Intention--May 1, 1968

Today's post is one of the longest and most important posts in the 3+ years of the blog. The bulk of the text is from an item I found in the MS Sovereignty Commission Files. It's a paid advertisement signed by 268 members of the Jackson community. While by today's standards it may read as a somewhat tame call for equality to all, it was quite a courageous action in 1968. There are three parts to the post: (1) my introduction; (2) the text of the document and the list of names--if you are from Jackson you will recognize many on the list; (3) a followup with some links and closing thoughts. While I hope you'll read all three parts, don't skip part 2 or the list of names--it's a group of people who should be remembered for their contributions during this era of Jackson, Mississippi and American history. Introduction : From our perspective in the year 2009, there are many things about our country's past that seem perplexing. One of those perplexing things would be the race relations in Mississippi prior to and during the 1960's. The amount of change since that time has been stunning to the point where courageous actions of that era might look insignificant by today's perspective. Don't be fooled. From personal experience, I know my father was the subject of KKK newsletters, had a cross burned on the front yard, was warned by the FBI that his name was on a KKK hit list, received numerous bomb threats, had his mail intercepted, and the list goes on. The actions that generated this hate and danger would all be considered inconsequential in today's environment. It has to be viewed within the context of its time. In 1968 the act of signing your name to a statement that calls for fair and equal treatment of all members of society was a courageous thing to do in the Deep South. I proud to say that my father and two uncles are on the following list. Virginia's father is on the list. The parents of many of my friends are on the list. Current Jacksonians like Clay Lee, T.W. Lewis, and Dean Miller are on the list, men whom I admire and certainly view as friends just as my father valued their friendship decades ago. I gave each name a seperate line instead of listing them all run together in paragraphs--they need to be listed one per line to recognize the contribution each made. I wish there was a way to give each name a full post. It's a list of people who should be remembered.

Language, logic, and reason in the church fathers, A study of Tertullian, Augustine, and Aquinas

A study of factors and reasons involving high school dropouts, from the Northern Lebanon County school system. A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate School, Millersville State College, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Guidance in Education [sic].

Educational theory

Anglican theological review

Philosophy of education, proceedings of the ... Annual Meeting of the Philosophy of Education Society