Hoyt Lee Murphree

Hoyt Lee Murphree, 88, went to be with his Lord on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2003, in Azle. Funeral: 2 p.m. Wednesday at Ash Creek Baptist Church. Burial: Hoggard-Reynolds Cemetery. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at White's Azle Funeral Home. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the building fund at Ash Creek Baptist Church, 300 S. Stewart St., Azle, Texas 76020. Mr. Murphree was born Feb. 7, 1915, in Culp, the third child and oldest son of Eli Thomas and Bessie Beck Murphree. He went to work at General Dynamics in 1942 and retired out of the test lab in 1977. He was a former school board member for the Azle Independent School District, a member of the board of the Azle Cemetery Association and one of the founding members of the Hoggard-Reynolds Cemetery Association, serving that association as chairman of the board from its establishment in 1983 until 1998. Hoyt was a devoted and active member of Ash Creek Baptist Church for 73 years, where he served as a deacon more than 50 years and as chairman of the board of trustees. He taught Sunday school for many years and until recently could be found every Sunday morning in the parking lot near the church, meeting arriving members and visitors with a warm and cheerful greeting, a handshake and, many times, a big hug. He always took time to greet the children who came to the church and let them know they were special. He was a man who exemplified his deep and abiding faith in God and his kindness and generosity on a daily basis by the way he lived his life. He is a shining example to all who knew him. He was predeceased by two sisters, Nodie Griggs and Betty Smith, and a brother, Marcus Murphree. Survivors: Wife of 66 years, his beloved "Shug," Della Mae Howard Murphree; sons and daughters-in-law, David and Faye Murphree and Paul and Judy Murphree; grandson, Brent Murphree; granddaughters, Victoria Mann and husband, Doug, Tara Koch and husband, Ricky, and Jill Britt and husband, Steve; great-grandsons, Tyler Clounch, Cody Clounch and Jaxon Koch; great-granddaughters, Jordan Mann and Devin Mann, all of Azle; sisters, Mildred Wood and Dorothy "Dot" Hill of Fort Worth and Imogene Davis Cooper of Azle; brothers, Rufus Murphree of Haltom City and Bobby Lewis Murphree and wife, Maxine, of Azle; brother-in-law, Mack Howard and wife, Joyce, of Azle; sister-in-law, Ouida Murphree Sheets; brother-in-law, Wallace Smith, both of Azle; nieces and nephews; and a host of friends.