Guy Stanley Durham
Guy Stanley Durham passed away at home on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, at age 94.
Graveside services were held on Friday, July 3, 2020, at Cobb Cemetery, with Chaplain Esteban Lugo of Gentle Transitions Hospice Care officiating and music by Faith and Grace Stephenson.
Pallbearers were Steve Stephenson, Stanley Otis Stephenson, Barry McGowan, Steve Durham, Josh Durham, and Drew Durham. Honorary pallbearers were Bill Renfroe, James Durham, Eddie Durham, and the Board of Directors and employees of Farmers State Bank of Groesbeck.
Guy was born September 3, 1925, in the Beulah Community, near Thornton and Groesbeck, to Otis Durham and Merle Curry Durham. He graduated from Groesbeck High School in 1942. He was one of the last two surviving members of the class.
After high school, he joined the Good Old Baylor Line, Class of 1946. After 2 years at Baylor, he joined the United States Navy and began training as a Naval Aviator. While in the Navy, he continued his education at The Shriners’ Institute, finally graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.
Guy married Faye Hudson on October 13, 1944. Faye was the mother of his daughters, Sandra and Virginia.
Guy served several churches in the Dallas area as Minister of Education, specializing in church growth. In 1961, he moved his family to Palestine to assume the position of Minister of Education at First Baptist Church. In December of 1964, Guy’s wife, Faye, died and Guy decided to leave the ministry to enter the private sector.
In 1965, Guy moved to Groesbeck, where he met and married Jean Bradley Koch on August 25, 1967. Guy opened the Durham-Little Auto Dealership in Mexia. After a few years, he sold the dealership and began dealing in the cattle market. Later, he established Durham Real Estate and Durham Construction Company, building houses and developing neighborhoods in Limestone County. In 1972, Guy’s second wife, Jean, died of cancer. Jean was the mother of Karen Lou Koch Semple. After the death of his second wife, Mr. Durham joined the Board of Directors at Farmers State Bank of Groesbeck, where he served until 2010, when he retired from the bank at age 85.
In March 1974, Mr. Durham married Annie Lou Hayes Beck, who was the mother of Tomi Lou Beck and Mary Garlan Beck Little. For several years the Durhams were in the business of thoroughbred horse racing, with Dallas Keen as their faithful horse trainer. Lou passed away on July 25, 2019, at the age of 90. One year later, Mr. Durham passed away in their Groesbeck home.
Guy was preceded in death by his parents, Otis and Merle Curry Durham; grandparents, Jim and Jenny Durham and Dora and Ben Curry, all of Groesbeck; two brothers, Joe Durham and Ellis Durham; wives, Faye Durham, Jean Durham, and Annie Lou Durham; and step-daughter, Karen Lou Koch Semple.
He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Sandra Durham Stephenson and husband Bob of Palestine; daughter, Virginia Durham Currin of Arlington; Tomi Lue Beck of Rockwall; Mary Garlan Beck Little of Groesbeck; grandchildren, Stephanie Stephenson McGowan of Lucus, E. R. Stephenson III of College Station, Stanley Otis Stephenson of College Station, Adam Flynn of Germany, Amanda Flynn of New York, Rebecka Faye Hannon of Arlington, Stacey Conover of Heath, Scott Frank of Dallas, and Kristi Beldin of Groesbeck; and seventeen great-grandchildren.
The family of Guy Durham wishes to acknowledge the stellar service of Dr. Kenneth Lomenzo and his nurses Shandy and Alisha. The family also wishes to thank Gwenn Dalton and her compassionate staff at Gentle Transitions Hospice Care, her amazing nurses Alisha and Tammy, and the best CNA in Texas, Katrina, who helped the family make it through his last weeks and days.
If friends would like to make a donation in lieu of floral tributes, these may be sent to the Cobb Cemetery Association.
Messages of condolence may be posted on the obituary at www.groesbeckfuneralhome.com.