Ranger Exes Memorial - The Faculty

Pearl Otto Hatley PEARL OTTO HATLEY, SR. was principal at Hodges Oak Park Elementary School in the mid-30's & was Ranger High School principal in 1941 at Ranger, TX. He married Youree Cereta Long & they had three children, two daughters, Martha Francine Hatley McCauley (RHS-1940), & Laura Jane Hatley Rogers and her husband Tom Ralph Rogers of Georgetown and one son, P.O. Hatley Jr. & his wife Mary Faith Hatley of Longview. Laura and Ralph were both born in Ranger. SON: P.O. HATLEY, JR., a longtime resident of Longview, TX died in June of 2012, with burial at Rosewood Park in Longview, TX. P.O. was born Dec. 29, 1930, in Ranger, TX, to P.O. Hatley Sr. & Youree Long Hatley, and passed away on June 10, 2012, in a local hospital after an extended illness. P.O. graduated from Rusk High School, attended Lon Morris Jr. College and then received both a BS & MS in Agriculture from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX. After college, he joined the U.S. Navy where he attended Officer Candidate School. He then served as Gunnery Officer aboard the U.S.S. Rendezvous during the Korean War. He loved the Navy dearly and served as the Commanding Officer of the Tyler, TX, active reserve unit, retiring as a Captain after 30 years of service. He was a 30-year employee of the Social Security Administration, having worked in McAllen, Texas, and Lawton, OK, before spending 28 years in the Longview office. Being not only a U.S. government employee for many years, he was also a longtime landowner & cattleman in Gregg, Cherokee and Smith counties. He was a member of the Naval Retirees Association, the Texas Cattleman's Association and the Texas Forestry Association. His love for the Longview Lobo football team is indescribable. He was a season-ticket holder and had not missed a Lobo game, including playoff games, for over 40 years. Preceding him in death were his parents; and sister, Francine Hatley McCauley (RHS-1940). Left to cherish his memory is his wife of nearly 52 years, Mary Faith Stoddard Hatley of Longview. Also surviving are his sons, Dr. Richard Hatley and his wife, Deborah, of Paris, TX, Randall Hatley of Longview and Ronald Hatley and his wife, Valerie, of Austin, TX. He also leaves behind two grandchildren, Jonathan and Madeleine Hatley of Paris; a brother-in-law, F.G. Stoddard of Bonham, TX; a sister and brother-in-law, Jane Hatley & Tom Rogers of Georgetown, TX; along with several nephews, nieces, great-nephews, great-nieces and a host of cousins. DAUGHTER: LAURA JANE HATLEY ROGERS passed away peacefully, just 12 days shy of her 90th birthday, on May 17, 2022, with family by her side, with burial in Dublin, TX. Jane was born in Ranger, TX, on May 29, 1932, to Pearl Otto & Youree Cereta (Long) Hatley. She graduated valedictorian from Rusk (Texas) High School in 1949 and attended Texas State College for Women, where she earned an MA in Music Education in 1953. Jane then moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, starting a career as band and choir director and English teacher at the newly opened Hamlin Junior High School. In Corpus Christi, she was an active member of First United Methodist Church where she joined the choir and a young adults Sunday School class. Through those groups, she met many of her fondest friends, as well as Tom Rogers, whom she would marry in that same church in July of 1959. Jane took a break from teaching when the first of her five children was born in 1961 and became a full-time mother to Lauralynn, Ralph, Tom, Charles, and Carolyn Jane Rogers. She returned to school in the late 1970s, earning an MA in Counseling from Corpus Christi State University, after which she worked as a teacher and later a school counselor. In 1983, Jane and Tom began a new adventure, following his career first to Wadsworth, OH, and later to Harrison City, PA, before returning to Texas in 1997 to begin an active retired life in Georgetown. In her retirement, she continued her lifelong hobbies which included sewing clothes, singing in the church choir, playing the trombone, piano, & handbells, needlework, cactus gardening, reading, watching football, and volunteering through church, schools, and the Democratic Party. Her passions for all these hobbies continue through to her children & grandchildren. Jane's strength and independence made her an inspiration to all, but especially to her daughters and granddaughters. As a single career woman in her 20s, Jane was already a homeowner. She bought a '54 Chevy, which several of her children learned to drive decades later. Jane survived the Ozona flood of 1954, four major hurricanes, bitter winters in Ohio and Pennsylvania, scorching Texas summers, a pandemic, & the unprecedented 2021 Central Texas winter storm. She will be remembered for her dedication to her community, the value she placed on education, her pragmatism, candor, intelligence, sharp wit, love of cats, appreciation for music, and sense of humor. Jane was preceded in death by her parents, Youree Cereta Long Hatley and P.O. Hatley, Sr., & her siblings, Francine Hatley McCauley and P.O. Hatley, Jr. She is survived by her loving husband of 63 years, Thomas R. Rogers, and her children and their significant others: Lauralynn Rogers Mayfield (Ron) of Pearland, TX; Ralph Rogers (Mary) of Corpus Christi, TX; Thomas J. Rogers (Lori Custer) of Greensboro, NC; Charles Rogers (Alison) of Houston, TX; and Carolyn Rogers Beck (David) of Austin, TX. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Samuel, Sean and Laura Janelle Mayfield; Kate and Madeline Johnston; Jordan Rogers (Simone Pitre) and Jonathan Rogers; Emily and Blake Rogers; and Tabitha Jane Beck.