Nancy White Windle

Garrett Hughes, 1993
Danae Hughes, 1995
Reagan Hughes, 1997
Summer Hughes, 2000
Bryce Windle, 2003
Alexis Windle, 2006

Jimmie worked at Lone Star Steel Company in Lone Star and we lived nearby in Lone Star TX. It is a small town of 1600 people. I was a stay-at-home mom until our children entered school. I started substitute teaching in the school system and was offered a full time job in 1980. I taught 4th grade for 3 years then moved to Kindergarten. I had to become certified for this so I attended East Texas State University and University of Texas at Tyler. I decided to finish my master's in early childhood education at that time. I retired in 2000 so I could travel with Jimmie who was already retired. (After a down turn in the economy, Jimmie worked for Thiokol in Karnack TX at the army ammunition plant until it closed.) I did substitute some but decided I would rather do volunteer art lessons at the local elementary school.
As many of you know Jimmie was diagnosed in 2003 with Mantle Cell Lymphoma. He received radiation after surgery on the lymph node on his cheek. In 2006 the cancer returned and we went to M.D.Anderson since it was a Stage IV. He had 6 rounds of heavy chemo. We stayed with our daughter in Lake Jackson (50 miles away) for 8 months. He was in remission for 22 months in Lone Star. In Oct. 2008 the cancer returned, and he had more treatment then radiation. We were able to return to Lone Star in April and have treatment during June in Longview TX. He is going to have more treatment in the next few weeks.
In August I was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (ulcerative colitis). I did not respond to the standard treatment and spent 2 weeks in the hospital. My doctor recommended Remicade which has seemed to get me straightened out. Since I have developed this as a 66 year old, it is harder to control. I will be on medication for the rest of my life but aren't we all.
We have been very blessed during our lives. Our children and grandchildren have blessed us over and over. We don't get to see them as much as we would like and they are growing up so fast.
On Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010, Jimmie passed away after going on Hospice Care the first of March. The hospice care was such a blessing. I am doing OK although after 47 years of marriage , it is hard being alone. I am thankful for family and friends during this time of adjustment.

When Jimmie and I married in August of 1962, we lived in Springdale, Arkansas. Jimmie was working for Ralston Purina Co. and I attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville to finish my degree in elementary education. Two of my classmates there were Jerry Jones and Jimmie Johnson (whom I never saw). In 1963 we moved to Russellville, Arkansas for a year. Jimmie took a job with Lone Star Steel Company in Lone Star, Texas in 1964 and we moved to the town of Lone Star near the steel plant. We have lived there ever since. Lone Star is mid-way between Texarkana and Tyler TX in the beautiful piney woods of East Texas.

My hobbies are watercolor painting, craft work, photography, traveling, and volunteer work at Lakeview Baptist Assembly which is located on the lake in Lone Star. I also learned to frame pictures and had a little framing business for a while. I have been active in church work and through the years have worked mainly with children. Another lady and I have led Children's Church for so long we can't remember when we started.

Jimmie and I became interested in our local Daingerfield-Lone Star High School football in 1968. That team won the state championship. Since that time Daingerfield-Lone Star has played in 7 high school championships and won 5 of those. The last one was in 2009. Our son played football but unfortunately his team did not go to state. In the early years we played and beat Plano and then Southlake Carroll but they have since moved on to larger classifications and we have stayed the same. One of our famous graduates was Thomas Everett who played at Baylor and then with the Dallas Cowboys. His mother lives in Lone Star in a house which Thomas bought for her. The most famous of the teams was the 1983 team which set a state record for the fewest number of points allowed for the season which was 8.

Jimmie and I have been to 15 Elderhostel Programs. This is a travel study group from all over the U.S. We have traveled to nearly every state in the U.S. by ourselves and with tour groups. We really enjoyed our last trip to the National Parks in Utah. It was a photography workshop which really was beneficial to us on how to improve our pictures. Digital cameras are amazing. Our last trip was to Branson, Missouri.

I attended Austin Elementary and loved school. In high school I enjoyed the Flashes, Future Homemakers, Berg Foundation and ran around with a great group of girls.

I am a very competitive person so throughout school, I wanted to make good grades. I knew my grades were good but did not know where I stood in the class rankings. Pat Waid and I were tied for Valedictorian (I found out later.) It was decided to use some Achievement Test Score to determine the winner. So I was second and the boy was third. There was no mention of this at graduation since Greenville High School only recognized High Girl and High Boy. I was disappointed that I did not receive any recognition more than not getting the four year scholarship.

My mother, Mary White, still lives in the same house that I was born in. She was 89 her birthday. She is still very active in her church and club work. She volunteers at the Hands of Compassion two days a week. My sister, Sandra White Freeman, lives behind my mom. She is a retired teacher also. Her son, Kendall Freeman, lives in Greenville with his wife, Cynthia, and two boys.