Obituaries

Winnie Maxine Gatlin passed away peacefully on Thursday evening August 14, 2014 at the Clyde W. Cosper Texas State Veterans Home in Bonham, Texas, at the age of 94. Funeral services will be held Monday, August 18th at 11:00 am at Trinity Baptist Church in Bonham, TX. Reverend Henry Shelton will officiate. Interment will be at the Elwood Cemetery in the Elwood Community. Family will receive guests at the church one hour prior to the service. Maxine Gatlin was born November 7, 1919 in the High Prairie Community near Telephone, Texas in northeast Fannin County. She was the third of four children and the only daughter born to James Clay Whited and Winnie Lee Johnson Whited. Maxine graduated from Bonham High School in 1937 and completed a one-year business course. She was employed as a secretary in Bonham where she worked for a time with the Bonham Chamber of Commerce, then as a secretary in Lubbock and in Sherman where she retired in 1985 after 19 years with the Grayson County Extension Service. Maxine met the love of her life, Howard Gatlin, on February 14, 1946 and they were married three months and four days later on May 18, 1946 at First Baptist Church in Sherman, Texas. Maxine and Howard were not blessed with any children but were devoted to one another and enjoyed traveling, especially in their retirement years, with close friends and family members to Branson, Missouri and Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Howard preceded her in death March 16, 2006 and Maxine moved to the Woodmoore Assisted Living in Bonham, Texas and was a resident there until July 31, 2014. Maxine became a member of Trinity Baptist Church in 2004 after having been a member of Fairview Baptist Church in Sherman from 1964 to that time. While a member of Fairview Baptist Church, Maxine frequently volunteered to visit members in the nursing homes and worked as a volunteer at the Fairview Baptist Church Food Bank distributing food to needy families. In her earlier years Maxine enjoyed walking, fishing, miniature golf, and trying new recipes. During her eight years at the Woodmoore Assisted Living playing Bingo and dominoes, particularly Forty-two, attending devotional services, and visiting friends were her favorite activities. In addition to her husband, Howard, Maxine was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Ross Whited and wife Oma Lee, Howard Whited and wife Irene, Johnson Whited, and sister-in-law Kathleen Clayton Gatlin. Maxine is survived by sister-in-law Bina Whited and brother-in-law Kenneth Gatlin; nieces Katricia Akers, Winnie Moncrief, Claydean Reed, Janell Jamieson; nephews Howard Johnson Whited, Kenny Gatlin, Kevin Gatlin and Ron Clayton. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to the Elwood Cemetery Association c/o Rhonda Lyles, 8866 E. FM 273, Ivanhoe, TX 75447