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McAllister Junior High School
Mary
B. McAllister Ingram Archives Dedication
Harmon Jerome McAllister
Historical Marker Dedication |
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Harmon graduated from Mineola High School and completed his education at North Texas University at Denton. He began teaching at Carlton, Texas, in 1934, and came to Matagorda County as a teacher and tennis coach in the Bay City High School in 1936. Mary Belle Richeson came to Bay City as a teacher in the high school in 1938. She was born on July 9, 1916, in Mankins, Archer County, Texas, the daughter of Watkins L. Richeson (1887-1950) and Vera Frazier (1892-1960). She received her education at North Texas University and the University of Texas. “Mr. Mac,” as Harmon was called, and Mary Belle were married on July 20, 1941, and became the parents of three children: Jerome Watt, Julianne and William Robert (1949-1993). Mr. McAllister became principal of the Bay City High School in 1941, and became the friend of many students. His unique method of discipline has been retold with humor by many of his former students. For example one of his students recalled having to lower and raise a window repeatedly for a repetition of the same act in the classroom. School was over and, at 5 p. m., the young man was still raising and lowering the window because he had been told to stay until he was dismissed. Mr. McAllister had become busy with other chores and gone home, only to be reminded by his wife that a window was going up and down, up and down, across the street from their home. To Mr. McAllister’s astonishment, he had forgotten to dismiss the student. In 1946, McAllister became the first business manager of the Bay City Schools; a position he held until 1949 when he went into business with J. W. Ingram and Pat Thompson. During those years he served on the board of trustees of the school district. He became Matagorda County Auditor in 1956 and in 1960, he was asked to be superintendent of the Bay City schools upon the retirement of John H. Cherry. McAllister held the position of superintendent of schools from July 1, 1960 until his death on June 17, 1963, at the age of fifty-three. The football stadium and buildings for both Bay City and Hilliard High Schools were built while he was business manager. Plans for Pierce School and Tenie Holmes School were formulated while he was a board member. Linnie Roberts School and Bay City Junior High School were completed during his tenure as superintendent. In 1969, McAllister Junior High School was named for him as a tribute to his dedicated service to education through the years. A loan and scholarship program was begun in 1963 as a memorial tribute to his work among young people. Mary Belle McAllister taught in the Bay City Schools for twenty-nine years, retiring in 1978. She joined the staff of the Bay City Public Library in 1981. Interested in the history of her church and community, she contributed to the research of early history and was the chief compiler of Historic Matagorda County published in 1986. On November 23, 1973, Mary Belle married John William “Bill” Ingram. They had ten wonderful years together traveling to the Holy Land and various parts of the United States. J. W. Ingram died on November 11, 1983. Mary Belle served as chairman of the Matagorda County Historical Commission for many years and spent countless hours preserving the history of Matagorda County. She received the Texas Historical Commission Award of Excellence in Preserving History in 1991 and the Ruth Lester Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.
Historic Matagorda County, Volume II, pages
345-346 |
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Harmon Jerome McAllister was born August 5, 1909, in Quitman, Wood County, TX, the son of Hugh Hunter McAllister (1876-1964) and June Kendrick (1878-1914). At the age of four, his mother died, and he and a younger sister went to live with his aunt Goldie Kendrick Cartwright (1882-1920) until he was twelve years of age. After the death of his aunt, he returned to live with his father and stepmother. After graduating from Mineola High School, McAllister attended college at North Texas State Teachers College in Denton, Texas. The Denton Record-Chronicle, August 24, 1933, listed Harmon Jerome McAllister as receiving the Bachelor of Science Degree from North Texas State Teachers College. In college, McAllister majored in business administration with a minor in economics. His alma mater honored him with membership in Tau Omega Pi, a national scholastic society in business administration. McAllister began his teaching career in Carlton, Hamilton County, Texas, in 1934. He moved to Matagorda County to serve as a business administration teacher and tennis coach at the Bay City High School in 1936. After teaching business administration in the high school for five years, McAllister was named principal in 194l. Mary Belle Richeson (1916-2010), daughter of Watkins L. Richeson (1887-1950) and Vera Frazier (1878-1960), moved to Bay City to teach at the high school. “Mr. Mac,” as Harmon was affectionately called, and Mary Belle were married on July 20, 1941. They had three children: Jerome Watt, Julianne, and William Robert (1949-1993). After Mr. Mac’s death, Mary Belle married John William “Bill” Ingram [1900-1983] on November 23, 1973. In the summer of 1944, McAllister replaced Donald Hatch as Director of the USO until Richard Gusman returned from military service and assumed the position of director. McAllister served as high school principal of Bay City High School until 1946 when he resigned his position and accepted the newly created post of business manager for the Bay City Independent School District. McAllister assumed his new duties July 1, 1946. He had charge of the financial and business affairs of the school district. In 1948, H. J. McAllister, business manager of the public schools, was elected president of the Bay City Lions Club for the new one year term. McAllister left the school system in 1949 to become office manager for the Bay-Tex Garage. During the time that he was associated with this firm, he served on the Bay City School Board as a member and as its president for the 1951-52 school term. H. J. McAllister, was appointed Matagorda County Auditor effective March 1, 1956. The new county auditor had long been a very active civic worker of the community, being a director of the chamber of commerce, chairman of various chamber committees, and an active Bay City Lions Club member. He held several top posts with the local school system prior to becoming county auditor. In 1957, McAllister received a certificate of distinction from the Chamber of Commerce. In January, 1960 McAllister was honored as Outstanding Man for 1959 by the Chamber of Commerce. McAllister had been active in the Bay City Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, Community Concert Association, Parent Teacher Association, Band Parents Club, Bay City Commandery, and Boy Scout work. As a member of First Methodist Church, McAllister served as teacher, chairman of the official board and head of various committees in the local church. He held several important positions in the Texas Methodist Conference, as well as in the district. H. J. McAllister was appointed the new Superintendent of Bay City Schools effective July 1, 1960. McAllister held four certificates: superintendent, principal, elementary and high school. McAllister held this position until his death on June 17, 1963. The football stadium and buildings for both Bay City and Hilliard High Schools were built while he was business manager. Plans for Pierce School and Tenie Holmes School were formulated while he was a board member. Linnie Roberts School and Bay City Junior High School were completed during his tenure as superintendent. Harmon Jerome McAllister died June 17, 1963, in Houston, Harris County, Texas, age 53, after unexpected complications after surgery, and was buried in Cedarvale Cemetery, Bay City, Texas. In June, 1963, the H. J. McAllister Memorial Student Loan Fund was established by his students, former students, and friends to assist students in completing their higher education. The fund is operated under the auspices of the Board of Trustees of the First Methodist Church. The H. J. McAllister baseball field was dedicated in his honor in 1964. A resolution passed by the Texas House of Representatives stated “WHEREAS, he was a member of the First Methodist Church in Bay City and actively participated in its functions by serving as a member of the Board of Stewards, a church school teacher, and a worker with the Methodist Youth Fellowship; and WHEREAS, his life was dedicated to the education of the young people of Texas, and through the years he served as a high school teacher, a principal and business manager, and from 1960 until his death, as Superintendent of the Bay City School system. He served on the Bay City school board as a member and as the president; “Mr. Mac,” as he was known by all those who loved him, was truly an outstanding person. . . Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the fifty-ninth Legislature adjourn this day in memory of the worthy life of Harmon Jerome McAllister, that a page in the House Journal be set aside in respect to him, and that a copy of this Resolution be sent to his family with our deepest personal regards.” Signed Ben Barnes, Speaker of the House; Resolution adopted by a rising vote of the House on March 9, 1965, Dorothy Hallman, Chief Clerk of the House. After integration of public schools, the existing junior high school was not large enough to accommodate the additional African American students necessitating the need for a second junior high. At the October 18, 1966, meeting of the Bay City Independent School District school board possible sites for a new junior high school were discussed. At a special meeting of the school board, January 31, 1967, a motion passed unanimously to submit an offer for approximately thirty acres of land in the Brown Estate adjoining the Thompson subdivision. On June 7, 1967, the school board unanimously passed a motion to name the new junior high the H. J. McAllister Junior High School. The announcement was made at the twenty-fifth reunion of the 1942 Bay City High school graduation class that the new $1.5 million junior high school would be named for the late H. J. McAllister, former school superintendent, with a projected completion date for the 1968-69 school year. In a letter to Mr. McAllister’s widow, Dr. Rodney Cathey, Superintendent of the Bay City Independent School District, wrote, “The Board of Education is naming this school in honor of the late Mr. McAllister because of his years of service to this community and to this school district. The contribution of Mr. McAllister to the education of the children of this community will so be recognized in years to come. Certainly the Board of Education could not have chosen a more appropriate name for the new school than The H. J. McAllister Junior High School.” To alleviate crowding of the existing Bay City Junior High School, African American students were given a choice of attending junior high at the Bay City Junior High or Hilliard (an African American school) until the additional junior high was completed. About 100 students elected to continue at Hilliard. During a special meeting of the school board on March 9, 1969, the total plant at McAllister School was surveyed by the entire group, and upon a motion passed unanimously by the trustees present, accepted the building and agreed to pay the full amount due to Drymalla Construction Co. The school board on May 20, 1969, accepted a recommendation that the McAllister school colors be Maroon and Gold and the mascot be Cougars. H. J. McAllister Junior High, 4100 Hiram Brandon, was situated on 31.657 acres, in the Elisha Hall League, Abst. 45. The following is the wording from a copy of the dedication program for the new H. J. McAllister Junior High in the “McAllister School” file at the Matagorda County Museum, Bay City, Texas.
McAllister School Dedication
PROGRAM
Invocation
Frank J. Balusek Refreshments [CC] H. J. McAllister Junior High School opened in the fall of 1969 “with a total of 73,691 square feet. McAllister Junior High School offers a capacity for 800 students in its thirty ultra-modern class rooms. At a cost of $1,140,000, the total climate controlled plant offers the newest and most modern methods of teaching, including television and visual aid equipment. We are proud at J. L. Drymalla Construction to have been chosen as the general contractor and wish them every success.” H. J. McAllister Junior High was the first air-conditioned school in the district. The new junior high had a combined library and media center with Mary Belle McAllister as the first librarian and Media Specialist at the new school. The kitchen at H. J. McAllister Junior High prepared meals not only for its students, but also for students at Linnie Roberts and the Edith Armstrong Center. The new gym, situated south of the courtyard, had a large seating capacity on its north wall. “On opposite ends of the gym were the girls and boys P. E. dressing rooms and two large classrooms for health classes and other physical education courses.” September, 1969, was the first time Bay City placed the sixth grade in junior high. That year, 630 students, sixth through eighth grade, began classes at McAllister Junior High. H. J. McAllister Junior High School principals: 1969-1974 Sam Maglitto, 1975-1980 Bobby Kimball, 1980-1994 John Keys, 1994-1997 Gary Adams, and 1997-2002 Bill Acuff. The H. J. McAllister Junior High School was renamed the H. J. McAllister Middle School in the fall 2002 and became a fourth through sixth grade campus. Principals of the H. J. McAllister Middle School: 2002-2005 Bill Acuff and 2005-2011 Lisa Moya. The H. J. McAllister Middle School closed in May 2011 as the school does not appear in the 2011-2012 Directory of the Bay City Independent School District. In 2019, the school was razed to make room for the new Linnie Roberts Elementary School which was projected to open in the fall of 2021.
Bay City considers the
education of its students, regardless of race, a top priority. To
prevent overcrowding and to establish the best school environment
conducive to learning, an additional junior high school was erected.
This new junior high was named in honor of H. J. McAllister whose
involvement in the school system, community affairs, and church
activities set an example for the residents of Bay City and
Matagorda County. |
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H. J. McAllister will preside in the principal's office of Bay City high school for the fourth consecutive year during the school term, 1944-45. Eight years ago in September he was new to Bay City. Now he has a host of friends, particularly among high school students, who will greet him on the morning of September 5th. Mr. McAllister has been in the Bay City school system eight years. He came from Hamilton county after one year's experience there. Graduate of North Texas State Teachers' College at Denton, where he took his A. B. degree, he has considerable further work to his credit toward his master's degree. His major in college was business administration with a minor in economics. His alma mater honored him with membership in Tau Omega Pi, national scholastic society in business administration. Mr. and Mrs. McAllister and their baby son [daughter] live at 2219 Fifth St.
Daily Tribune, August 24, 1944 |
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School Board President Bert Steves Monday announced that H. J. McAllister had resigned his position as principal of the Bay City high school and has accepted the newly created post of business manager for the Bay City Independent School district. Mr. McAllister assumed his new duties July 1. Under the new set up, Mrs. Dora Dienst will be tax collector-assessor for the school district, a position she has filled for a number of years. Mr. McAllister will have charge of the financial and business affairs of the school district. He also will be purchasing agent for the Bay City school. Mr. McAllsiter stated that plans now call for establishing an office in the Jefferson Davis grammar school. It is expected that the office will be opened about August 1. Coming to Bay City in 1935, Mr. McAllister served for five years as teacher of business administration in the high school. He was elevated to the principalship in 1941, and continued in that capacity until he resigned last month to assume his new duties. The school board has not...hired a principal to replace McAllister.
The Daily Tribune, 1946 |
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Mr. H. J. McAllister, business manager of public schools, was elected president of the Bay City Lions Club for the new one year term. The election was held at the regular Friday meeting.
Daily Tribune, Monday, May 31, 1948 |
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H. J. McAllister, office manager for Bay-Tex Garage and a former school teacher and principal, has been appointed as the new county auditor, District Judge G. P. Hardy, Jr. has announced. The appointment will be effective March 1. Retiring auditor Luther Robertson previous had announced that he planned to retire from county service on January 1, 1957. Mr. Robertson has announced that he will leave county employ about March 1 to assume the post of general superintendent of project at Albuquerque, New Mexico for McGinnes Brothers, contractors with home office at Houston. Mr. McAllister, who came to Bay City in 1936 as a school teacher and later becoming school principal, and still later organizing and heading the school business office, announced he would take over the auditor's post as soon as possible. He indicated he still had to conclude his employment at the garage. The county auditor to be has long been a very active civic worker of the community, being a director of the chamber of commerce, chairman of various chamber committees, and a very active Bay City Lions Club member. Mr. McAllister is married, his wife Mary Belle still teaching in Bay City schools. The couple met through their profession. They have three children, Julianne, 12; Jerry, 10 and Bill, 6. Mr. McAllister at North Texas State College majored in business administration. His coming to Bay City as a school teacher was his second teaching assignment after leaving school.
Daily Tribune, February 15, 1956 |
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H. J. McAllister H. J. McAllister was born in Wood County, Texas in 1909. He attended high school in Tintman and graduated from the Mineola High School. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree from North Texas State in Denton. McAllister came to Bay City in 1936 where he was business education teacher. He became principal of the Bay City High School in 1941. Later he served as business manager of the Bay Tex Garage. In 1957 he was appointed Matagorda County Auditor, the position which he now holds. Mr. McAllister is married to the former Mary Belle Richeson, a teacher in the local school system. He is the father of three children, Julianne, 15, Jerry, 14 and Bill 10. The family resides at 2509 Ave. I. Mr. McAllister, a member of the school board, served as president of the board one year. Active in scout work, he served as Big Gift Chairman for the Girl Scouts in 1959; troop committeeman for the Bay Scout Troop No. 45. Other civic and community organizations with which he is connected include the Bay City Lions Club; Chamber of Commerce; Community Concert Association; Parent Teacher Association, Band Parents Club, and Bay City Commandery. A member of First Methodist Church, McAllister has served as teacher, chairman of the official board and head of various committees in the local church. He holds several important positions in the Texas Methodist Conference, as well as in the district.
The Daily Tribune, Thursday, January 21,
1960 |
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The appointment of H. J. McAllister, Matagorda County county auditor, as the new superintendent of Bay City Independent School District, was announced Monday by Mrs. Clarence Mehrens, president of the school board of trustees. McAllister will succeed John H. Cherry, who is retiring effective July 1, 1960. "I am looking forward to the new job with a great deal of interest and it will certainly be a challenging position," McAllister told the Daily Tribune Monday. "We feel very fortunate in obtaining the services of Mr. McAllister,: Mrs. Mehrens said Monday. "He is well-qualified for the position as superintendent of our school system. McAllister is married to the former Mary Belle Richeson, a teacher in the local schools and has three children, Julianne, 15, Jerry, 14, and Bill, 10. The family resides at 2509 Avenue I. He is also active in Scout work having served as Big Gift Chairman for the Girl Scouts in 1959, troop committeeman for the Bay Scout Troop No. 45. McAllister is also active in the Bay City Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, Community Concert Association, Band Parents Club and Bay City Commandery and the First Methodist Church.
The Daily Tribune, Monday, February 15,
1960 |
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Bay City--H. J. McAllister has been appointed superintendent of the Bay City public schools, effective July 1. The announcement was made by the Bay City Independent School Board. McAllister has been given a three-year contract. He will succeed Supt. John H. Cherry, who has been superintendent of the public schools here for the past 16 years. Cherry is retiring at the end of the current school year, having been in the Bay City system for 24 years. Prior to his elevation to the superintendency, Cherry served as grammar school principal. McAllister is at this time serving Matagorda County as auditor, a position that he has held for the past four years. Only last month McAllister was honored as Bay City's most outstanding man for 1959, by the chamber of commerce. He holds a bachelor of education degree from North Texas State College, and has four certifications: For superintendency, principal, and elementary and high school teacher. Previously, he was connected with the city schools, first as high school teacher, then as principal, and served also in the capacity as business manager. During the period when he has not been employed by the schools he has served on the school board, and has been president of that body.
The Houston Post, Wednesday, February 17,
1960 |
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Bay City--The new $1.5 million junior high school here will be named for the late H. J. McAllister, former school superintendent, it was announced Saturday at a reunion of the 1942 Bay City High School graduating class. The school is to be completed by the 1968-69 school year. The 1942 graduating class, hosted by the 1941 class, celebrated their 25th year reunion Saturday at a banquet at the Bay City Country Club. Attorney Moise Simon, chairman of arrangements for the celebration, read the announcement in a letter from Supt. Rodney D. Cathey. McAllister was superintendent of the Bay City Independent School District from 1960 until his death in June, 1963. He also served as a teacher and, in 1942, was principal of the high school.
Houston Post, date unknown |
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Funeral services for Harmon Jerome McAllister, 53, Superintendent of Bay City Independent School District, will be held at 2:00 PM Tuesday at the First Methodist Church. McAllister, who had served as superintendent here since July 1, 1960, died in St. Luke’s Hospital in Houston in an unexpected relapse after what was apparently successful surgery. He succumbed at 4:30 AM Monday. A resident of Bay City since 1936, McAlister resided at 2509 Avenue I with his wife, the former Mary Belle Richeson, and family. He was honored as Bay City’s “outstanding citizen of 1959” by the Chamber of Commerce, and had served as high school teacher and principal, business manager, school board member and president, and was Matagorda County auditor until appointment to fill the position vacated by retiring John Cherry. McAllister had also been active in the Bay City Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, Community Concert Association, Band Parents Club, Bay City Commander, The First Methodist Church, and in Boy Scout work. Rev. Leslie LeGrand of Epworth Methodist in Houston will officiate at the Tuesday rites, and burial will be in Cedarvale Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Taylor Brothers Funeral Home. Survivors in addition to the widow are one daughter, Julianne, two sons, Jerry and Bill, all of Bay City; father, Hugh Hunter McAllister, three sisters, Mrs. Kenneth Gilliland of Longview, Mrs. Wando Casey of Fort Worth, Mrs. Dan Hallmark of Tyler; two brothers, Sidney McAllister of Quitman and Bob McAllister of Dallas. Pallbearers will be Dr. Paul Brewer, D. F. Wiginton, E. J. Faseler, B. E. Liston, John Hill and Pat Thompson
The Daily Tribune, June 17, 1963 |
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Mary Belle was born in Mankins, TX on July 9, 1916 to Vera Frazier Richeson (from Bomerton, TX) and Watkins L. Richeson (from Cherry Hill, AL). After graduating from high school in Mankins, she attended North Texas State Teacher’s College in Denton graduating in 1936 with a Bachelor of Science Degree. In later years she also obtained her Master’s Degree in Education from Denton. She taught for one year at South Lockett in west Texas. In the fall of 1937 she moved to Bay City and taught at Bay City High School. In subsequent years she taught fifth grade at Tenie Holmes Elementary and was librarian at Cherry Junior High School and McAllister Junior High School. Mary Belle felt her greatest contribution to teaching was leading the Junior Historians at McAllister. In 1941, Mary Belle married Harmon J. McAllister. They had three children: Jerry, Julianne and Bill. Harmon became superintendent of schools in Bay City and died in 1963. In 1973, she married William J. Ingram, who died in 1983. Mary Belle was active in many school organizations from the Girl Reserves in the 1930’s to the Junior Historians in the 1970’s. In 1978, she was first runner-up for the Texas Teacher of the Year award. She was an active member of the First United Methodist Church for almost 70 years and in 1980 authored 110 Years of Methodism, History of First United Methodist Church of Bay City, Texas, for which she received the Kate Warnick Award for excellence in publication of local church history. She was book chairman and chief compiler of Historic Matagorda County, a two-volume history published in 1986. In 1979 she authored a family history book, Listen To The Bell. In 2006, Mary Belle published Canebrake Settlements, which recorded the history of black people and their churches along Caney Creek during the nineteenth century. Mary Belle taught school for thirty years and after retiring in 1978, she was active in the Matagorda County Museum, the Matagorda County Historical Commission, the Genealogical Society, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Landmark Commission. She received the Texas Historical Commission Award of Excellence in Preserving History in 1991 and the Ruth Lester Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. Mary Belle was preceded in death by her parents, both husbands, son Bill and sisters Vivian and Alice. She is survived by her children Jerry (Hope) McAllister of Hammond, WI and Julianne (Daryl) Thompson of Ashwood, TX; her six grandchildren, Juliellen & Christopher Galletti, Jennifer & John Runnells III, Troy & Lauren Thompson, Adrienne Palmer, Ruby & Brian Bodeker, and Ellie McAllister & Paul Hennings; she was very proud of her twelve great grandchildren, Christopher, Aubrey & Claire Galletti, Hunter & Chandler Runnells, Erin & Landon Thompson, Zachary, Trent & Ethan Palmer, and Coralee & Merritt Bodeker; a nephew and six nieces, including Jan (Fred) Raby of Elgin, TX to whom she was very close; and her devoted caregiver and friend Carolyn Boulden. A special thank you to the Legacy Assisted Living staff and to special caregivers, Sherry Jones, Michelle Rodriguez, Hester Williams and Hope Barrera for taking such loving care of our mother and grandmother. Mary Belle Ingram, educator, librarian, genealogist, historian, civic leader, church layman, patriot, friend, wife, mother, and grandmother, is a treasured loved one and citizen of her community, county, state and country. Pallbearers are grandsons Troy Thompson, John Runnells III, Chris Galletti, Paul Hennings, Brian Bodeker, and friends Jim Allen, Bob Noster David Holubec and Mike Reddell. Honorary pallbearers are Sam Maglitto, Lamar Evans, Fred Walker, Eddie Jecmenek, George Durett, Charles Martinez and George Yeager. Preferred memorials are William R. McAllister Scholarship Fund at Stephen F. Austin University, Matagorda County Museum and First United Methodist Church of Bay City. Visitation will be held at Bay City Funeral Home from 2 – 4 PM Sunday. Funeral service will be 2 PM Monday, April 26, 2010 at First United Methodist Church of Bay City with interment at Cedarvale Cemetery. “I have had a good and fruitful life, and hope I have not lived in vain but have left a legacy of service to my family, friends and church, and to this wonderful community that has been my home since 1938”. Mary Belle Richeson McAllister Ingram, 8/24/09
Funeral program |
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William Robert "Bill" McAllister Funeral services for William Robert "Bill" McAllister, 43, formerly of Bay City, are scheduled for 2 p. m. today at the First United Methodist Church in El Campo with the Reverends Don Delaplane and Buford Findley officiating. Graveside services are at 4 p. m. today at Cedarvale Cemetery in Bay City. Mr. McAllister was born Dec. 16, 1949 to the late H. J. McAllister and Mary Belle McAllister Ingram and died Nov. 21, 1993 at his home in El Campo. He was a professor of government and sociology at Wharton County Junior College for 16 years. He was an excellent teacher and will be missed by his students. He was a member of First United Methodist Church of El Campo and served on the children's day care advisory board. A 1968 graduate of Bay City High School, he received a master of science degree in sociology from Stephen F. Austin University in 1973 and an LLD from the University of Texas in 1976. Survivors include his mother, Mary Belle Ingram, of Bay City; a sister, Julianne Thompson and her husband Daryl of Broken Arrow, Ola.; a brother, Jerry and his wife Hope McAllister of Hudson, Wis.; five nieces, Jennifer Thompson of Bay City, Juliellen Thompson of Dallas, Adrienne Thompson of Broken Arrow, Ruby and Ellie McAllister of Hudson, Wis. and a nephew, Troy Thompson of Broken Arrow. Pallbearers are Lamar Evans, Fred Walker, Bill Muns, John Morris, Robert Clark, John Guy and Dr. Jim Coats. Memorials may be made to the William Robert "Bill" McAllister Memorial Scholarship at Wharton County Junior College, 911 Boling Highway, Wharton, 77488, or to the charity of your choice. Arrangements are with Triska Funeral Home in El Campo.
Daily Tribune, November 23, 1993 |
Harmon Jerome McAllister was born in Quitman,
Wood County, Texas, on August 5, 1909. His parents were Hugh Hunter
McAllister (1876-1964) and June Kendrick (1878-1914). At the age of
four, Harmon’s mother died and he and a younger sister lived with an
aunt, Goldie Kendrick Cartwright. He and four brothers and three
sisters. His mother and father were born in Wood County, Texas;
their parents had come from Georgia via Alabama in 1869.
Mary Belle McAllister Ingram of Bay City, TX
passed away on April 23, 2010 at her home, the Legacy Assisted
Living, after fighting a valiant battle against Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
and heart disease.
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