Buren Charles Smith '47
Buren Charles Smith was born in Shawnee, OK. on May 21, 1929, of Buren Cecil and Edna Tinsley Smith. He passed away on January 4, 2009, in Tyler, Texas. In 1947, Charles graduated from French Hi School in Beaumont, Texas, from Lamar Junior College in Beaumont in1949 and went on to obtain a Chemical Degree from Hendrix College in Conroe, AR in 1954. He continued his education and obtained a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was very proficient in his profession and was a member of the Instrument Society of America. Charles worked for Goodrich-Gulf in Port Neches, Texas, prior to employment with Monsanto Chemical in St. Louis, Mo. He traveled to the United Kingdom, Holland, Japan, Australia, and other worldwide facilities overseeing the instrumentation for the Monsanto plants. He retired from PCE Associates, St. Louis, in 1991. Charlie was always interested in the Model “A” Ford. He purchased two rusting old vehicles in 1982 and managed to make one great antique car. There were parts everywhere but he got them all assembled into one marvelous Show Car which won many awards. He drove it many a mile and enjoyed every minute of it. Antique cars were his passion. Charlie and his wife, Patsy, were active in two bowling groups in Tyler. Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, Buren; brother, the Rev. Donald W. Smith; and a sister, Phyllis L. Smith Doshier. He is survived by his wife, Patsy Ruth; sons. Perry and his wife Sally, Alan and his wife Peggy, daughter Carol and her husband Kyle Keith; a stepson, Gary Monkhouse; nine grandchildren, two great grandchildren three step grandchildren and three step great-grandchildren. He had a positive nature, was often amusing and a very pleasant and personable person who made friends easily. He was very active in Christ Episcopal Church, The Brotherhood of St. Andrews, the Tyler Seniors Bowling Assn., the Alzheimer Association, and the TASCA Men’s Coffee Club.

Jo Ann Darden '49
After a valiant battle against interstitial lung disease, Jo Ann Darden went to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, April 21, 2011. Visitation and viewing will be from 6 to 8 PM, Monday, April 25th at Lake Shore Funeral Home, 5201 Steinbeck Bend Road in Waco. Memorial services will be 2PM Tuesday, April 26th at Lake Shore Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. Ed Carter officiating. A reception will follow the ceremony. Thoughts and memories may be shared in the online Guest Book at www.LakeShoreFuneralHome.com. Jo Ann was born in Woodville, Texas on October 6, 1932 to Stephen B. Owens and Margaret Allie (Barge) Owens. She graduated from Beaumont’s French High School in 1949 and Lamar College in 1953. It was while a student at Lamar College that she met the love of her life, Robert F. Darden Jr. She was a freshman business major and he was trying to “squeeze” a four year course into ten years. Robert proposed to Jo Ann while an Aviation Cadet in pilot training. They were married on Cinco de Mayo 1953, five days after he received his wings and U.S. Air Force commission. Their first assignment was to a Strategic Air Command B-29 wing at Smoky Hill Air Force Base near Salina, Kansas. Jo Ann adapted quickly to marriage and being an Air Force wife. She was a dedicated Christian, a superb cook and homemaker, a loving and affectionate helpmate, an outstanding and sacrificing mother, a doting and comforting grandmother, and a great “Colonel’s wife”. Serving the Lord and raising their three children took most of Jo Ann’s time, but she also found time for three other interests – music, decorating, and cooking. She took piano lessons for 12 years and was a skilled piano player, plus she had a talent for being able to “play by ear”. She could replay any piece of music after hearing it played just once. While in high school and on into college she was a member of Beaumont’s famed singing group, the Melody Maids. They were invited to sing at functions all over the world. Besides singing at numerous military bases, they traveled to New York twice and also to Mexico City. They were part of the grand opening ceremonies at Glen McCarthy's fabulous Shamrock Hotel in Houston in the early 1950s. In later years, she sang with Columbus Avenue Baptist Church’s Singing Saints and Baylor University's Senior Choir. Jo Ann accepted each change of duty station as a dutiful Air Force wife with a positive attitude and bloomed where ever God – and the United States Air Force – assigned her husband. She established residences in Salina, Kansas; Montgomery and Prattville, Alabama; Atwater, California, Spokane and Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington; Fairfax County, Virginia (near Mount Vernon); Fukuoka, Japan, as well as Woodville, Waco and Wichita Falls, Texas. Jo Ann taught herself to cook and became a beloved chef wherever the family was stationed. Her family’s favorites include her legendary shrimp gumbo (the secret is in the roux), roast beef and rice with gravy, cornbread dressing, three-bean casserole, chicken enchiladas and potato salad. There were few things that Jo Ann loved more than getting her whole family together and cooking for them. Jo Ann loved to host her Ladies Monday Morning Bible Study and to watch or attend Baylor Lady Bear basketball games. She served a term on Waco Center for Youth’s Public Responsibility Committee, cooked with Martha Colbert for more than 20 years for the Seventh and James Baptist Church’s Meals on Wheels program, worked in an elementary school library, taught Title One Remedial Math in the public schools, worked for Baylor during student registration and was a Baylor Dorm Mom. She was a member of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church and the Friendship Sunday School Class. She was also a member of PEO. Jo Ann was a born “green thumb” person and loved to work in her gardens. Her flowers were always a neighborhood showplace. She also loved dogs and seldom was without one. One of Robert’s secretaries was heard to say that when she came back, she wanted to come back as one of the Darden’s dogs. One of Jo Ann’s greatest strengths was her adaptability and resilience as an Air Force wife. While stationed in Japan, Robert regularly checked the ADOTs (Air Defense Operations Team) he had stationed at each Japanese Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) radar site. At each site, the JASDF officers insisted that he play bridge with them. They loved to play bridge and speak English to Americans. Knowing this, when Jo Ann accompanied Robert on these trips, she always took a book along to read while he played bridge. However, on one trip, at one site, they were one player short. They begged Robert to ask Jo Ann to fill in. They were confident they could beat a woman. Jo Ann reluctantly agreed. That night Jo Ann was dealt the best hands probably ever dealt in the annals of bridge. Overnight she became a legend throughout the Western Air Defense Sector. Jo Ann was never asked to play bridge with JASDF officers again. Jo Ann is survived by her loving husband of 58 years, Robert F. Darden Jr.; son Robert F. Darden lll and wife Mary, of Waco and San Antonio; son Steven L. Darden and wife Ellen of Blacksburg, VA; and daughter Danni L. Mayfield and husband Dan of Waco; brother Brunson “Sonny” Owens of Woodville, TX; sister-in-law Peggy Sue Brammer of Beaumont, TX and Chris and Joyce Brammer, her favorite nephew and niece, also of Waco, plus numerous grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Fuzzy Friends Rescue. Memorial Services Tuesday April 26, 2011, 2:00 at Lake Shore Funeral Home Chapel