Obituaries

Services for Howard Anthony Hestand, Jr. will be held on Monday, July 24, 2017 at Dannel Funeral Home at 2:00 p.m. Brother Howard Smith will officiate. The family will greet friends from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 23, at Dannel Funeral Home. Howard A. Hestand, Jr., passed away on Sunday, July 16, 2017. Mr. Hestand was born on July 20, 1924, in Sherman, Texas, at St. Vincent’s Hospital, to Howard A. Hestand, Sr. and Sarah Elizabeth (Johnson) Hestand. He graduated from Sherman High School in 1942. He attended one semester at Austin College before volunteering to serve in the U.S. Navy for World War II. He entered the service on March 23, 1943, and attended boot camp at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station. He was assigned to the troop transport ship U.S.S. Freestone where he reached the rank of Coxswain and served as part of a Quad-40mm gun crew. He earned a Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and a Philippine Liberation Campaign Ribbon with one star. After he completed his naval service on March 6, 1946, he married his high school sweetheart, Mary Janice Cole, on April 7, 1946. He finished his B.A. at Austin College in 1949 and the couple then moved to Austin where he earned his Pharmacy Degree from the University of Texas in 1952. The couple returned to Sherman where Howard joined his father in the family business, Hestand Pharmacy, which was established in 1936. He worked at Hestand Pharmacy for 44 years until it closed its doors in 1996. He enjoyed serving his customers and was always willing to help them in any way he could. Howard enjoyed sports, especially golf, and played the position of running back for the Sherman High School Bearcats. He loved music, studying piano when he was young. He was also a drummer in a band during his high school years. He worked as a delivery boy for Hestand Pharmacy during high school as well as working for the well-known Ashburn’s Ice Cream Shop. He was very active in the community, serving as president of the Sherman Rotary Club and being a supporter of the Boy Scouts of America. He was a long-time, faithful member of the Western Heights Church of Christ and served as a deacon for many years. Mr. Hestand is survived by two daughters, Cynthia Hestand of Sherman and Janice Barris (husband Ben) of Beeville, Texas; two grandchildren, Emily Abigail Barris Mendez (husband Daniel) of Lubbock, Texas, and Nathaniel Caleb Barris (wife Karla) of Camp Pendleton, California; three nieces, Dana Berry of Little Rock, AR, Suzannah Gabriel (husband Randy) of Humble, Texas, and Elizabeth Mask (husband Keith) of Brownwood, Texas; plus numerous other relatives and friends. You may sign the online guestbook at www.Dannelfuneralhome.com.