In Memory

Ulala Wood (Dukes) - Class Of 1937

Ulala Wood (Dukes)

Mary Ulala Wood Dukes was born Sept. 28, 1920, in Gorman,  Eastland County, to Green Wilder and Olivia Holleyman Wood.  Ulala passed away on March 12, 2010, at her home in Houston.

Services were held on Wednesday, March 17, at 11:00 a.m. at Nowlin-Anders Funeral Home in De Leon, Comanche County.  She was laid to rest at Old Nineveh Cemetery along side her husband of 66 years, William Denman Dukes, Sr.  W. D. preceded her in death on Jan. 6, 2007.

Mary Ulala grew up in the New Hope community, north of Gorman, and graduated from nearby Carbon High School, class of 1937.  Denman and Ulala were wed  on Sept. 9, 1940, in Jal, N.M. and raised their family in the oilfield towns of Levelland, McCamey and Eldorado during the 1940s, interspersed with W. D.'s time in the Pacific for World War II.  The family moved to Eastland County in 1950, and on to Perryton in the winter of 1962.  Ulala often referred to the farm years at Carbon-Eastland County as  her happiest, in spite of the severe drought, and she remembered those years with beautiful poetry of the young family's farm life.  Mary Ulala blossomed and taught grade school girls' Sunday school class in each of her homestead churches throughout her life, serving 30 years at First Baptist Church, Perryton.  In Perryton, W. D. was founding president and Mary Ulala was vice  president of Prairie Well Service.  In 1993, Denman and Ulala to Hide-A-Way Lake near Tyler and enjoyed nature there until moving to Houston in December 2005.

Mary Ulala is survived by her children, W. D. Jr. (Denny) of Abilene, Jerry of  Evergreen, Colorado, Steve of Houston and Susan of Seagraves.  Also surviving as 12 grandchildrren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Mary Ulala was the last surviving sibling of her loving family of five sisters and three brothers.  She was preceded in death by sisters, Vera, Velma, Gladys and Ruby Lee; and brothers, Ernest, Lawrence and G. W. Jr.  She is survived by three sisters-in-law, Hazel Comfort Dukes Roberts, and Jimm Dukes and Jean Dukes, both of Comanche.