GAY NELL GIDEON DASKEVICH attended Ranger High School
in the Class of 1940 at Ranger, TX and married Joe
Daskevich, Jr. after graduation. They had a daughter,
Gay Ann Daskevich, now Wolford, of the RHS Class of
1959 and two sons, Robert Daskevich (RHS-1967) and
Ronald Daskevich (RHS-1961) who was a career Air Force
pilot after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Gay Nell died in 1958. Her brother was Jake Gideon
(RHS-1938).
HUSBAND: JOE W. DASKEVICH, JR., 81, of Midland & formerly
of Mingus and Ranger, TX died on Sept. 3, 1998. He was
born in Mingus & finished school there as did his brother,
Anthony "Tut" Daskevich before the family moved to Ranger.
His father, Joe, Sr. had originally worked in the
Thurber coal mines at age 12, later did all mechanical
work on his cars, was an expert cook, house painter,
musician, and raconteur. When Joe Sr. lived in Mingus
he was manager of Zim's Dr Pepper Bottling Works in
Strawn. When Zim sold out, and the Company moved to
Ranger, so did Joe Daskevich, Sr. and family. Someone
was once heard to exclaim that Joe Jr.'s Mother, Valerka
"made the best bread you ever put in your mouth," but
someone else added, that the bread could have been
baked by Joe, Sr. who also made delicious bread.
Joe, Jr. was a route salesman for Dr. Pepper before he
went into the insurance business. He attended Ranger
Jr. College. Two sisters were Betty Daskevich Yeager
(RHS-1947) & Faye Daskevich Basham (RHS-1953).
Joe, Jr. married Gay Nell Gideon (RHS-1940) of Ranger.
They had a daughter Gay Ann (RHS-1959) and two sons,
Robert (RHS-1967) who lives in Ranger and J. Ronald
(RHS-1961) who was a career Air Force pilot after
graduating from the Air Force Academy. After Gay Nell
died in 1958, Joe, Jr. married Violet Bledsoe of Ranger
and they had one son, Phillip.
Joe, Jr. was a musician---guitar and bass fiddle and
whose life was always filled with music. He also had
a wonderful singing voice. One old Mingus friend said,
"I can still hear Joe at Midnight Christmas Mass singing
"Adestes Fideles."