BEVERLY STUBBLEFIELD DUDLEY, JR., 89, a
lifelong resident of Ranger, TX passed away Dec. 16,
2009, with burial in the Evergreen Cemetery at Ranger,
TX.
Mr. Dudley was born in 1920 at Plano, TX, to Beverly S.
Dudley, Sr. and Ola Mae Horn. After 4 months, he and
his mother joined his father at their home on Spring
Road in Ranger, where his father was a lawyer. His
two-block walk to attend Young Elementary turned into
a couple of miles to walk across the railroad tracks
to Ranger High School. After school hours, he would
care for the chicks at his father's hatchery, located
a half block from school. He graduated in 1937.
Mr. Dudley attended Ranger Jr. College and Texas
A&M University, graduating in 1942. He served in
the U.S. Marine Corps, achieving the rank of Captain.
He fought in the Pacific during WWII, with action
at Guadalcanal.
After the war, Mr. Dudley returned to Ranger where
he taught for 2 years at the Vocational School in
Eastland. The secretary there, Hazel Harrell, won
his heart and they were married in 1948. Beverly
and Hazel's only child was Teresa Dudley. The
three of them moved from their apartment in town
to their land west of town that Mr. Dudley's
father had bought for one dollar an acre.
Probably best known as a respected (and feared)
vocational agriculture teacher, Mr. Dudley began
teaching at Ranger High School in the spring of
1950, taking over from his brother-in-law, Mr.
R.B. Thomas, Jr. of Strawn, who took a position
with the Purina Feed Company. He continued
in this position until his retirement in 1980.
Mr. Dudley earned his master's degree from Texas
A&M University during summer semester commuted
together with Strawn and Desdemona agriculture
teacher, Mr. Keith McDonald.
Boxed of slides and photos of FFA and judging
teams can be found in the Dudley home. During his
30 1/2 years at RHS, Mr. Dudley took numerous
judging teams to the district, area and state
meets with several teams earning a trip to the
national contest in Oklahoma City. One team slept
overnight through a tornado that destroyed a
building across from their motel.
Students learned many practical skills in vocational
agriculture classes. An item that all classes built
has recently found its way back to Mr. Dudley's
house - one of those famous shoe shine kits.
Mr. Dudley served in various capacities in the
First United Methodist Church of Ranger. Though he
could be heard singing the hymns with gusto, carrying
a tune was not one of his strong points.
Mr. Dudley is preceded in death by his wife Hazel,
on the very same date in 2002. He is also preceded
in death by his parents, Beverly S. Dudley, Sr. and
Ola Mae Dudley. He is survived by his sister, Doris
Dudley Thomas (RHS-1940) and her husband R.B. Thomas
Jr. (RHS-1940) of St. Louis, MO; and by his daughter,
Teresa Ann (RHS-1970) of Saginaw, TX.
WIFE: HAZEL HARRELL DUDLEY passed away on
the morning of Dec. 16, 2002, with interment at
Evergreen Cemetery in Ranger, TX.
She was born to Bessie Orvel and Sarah Rilla (Hair)
Harrell on April 19, 1916, in Lampasas, TX. Later,
she moved with her family to Eastland, TX, where
she graduated from high school.
Hazel attended North Texas State University for 2
years. She then worked at Consolidated in Fort
Worth. After returning to Eastland, she worked as a
secretary for the Human Resources Department at the
Eastland County Courthouse. While later working at
the Eastland County Vocational School, she met and
subsequently married Beverly Dudley, Jr. (RHS-1937),
a teacher there, who later served as vocational
agriculture teacher at Ranger High School. They
married in August of 1948 in the home of Hazel's
parents in Eastland.
A big part of Hazel's life included worship and
activities at the First United Methodist Church in
Ranger. She was a member of the Willing Workers
Sunday School Class and the United Methodist Women
for many years. Among her hobbies for various parts
of her life were reading and oil and palette knife
painting.
Hazel is survived by her husband, Beverly S. Dudley,
Jr. of Ranger; one daughter, Teresa A. Dudley (RHS-
1970) of Saginaw; one sister, Frances Walters of
Eastland, one brother, Travis Harrell also of Eastland;
two nieces, Gaila Arther of Fort Worth and Elaine
Johnson of Aledo; and one nephew, James Rick Harrell
of Fort Worth. She was preceded in death by one sister,
Opal Foust of Valley Mills and one brother, Orvel
Harrell of Fort Worth.