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Joe B. Yoakum Ft Worth, TX QCWA # 18994 Chapter 72 |
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Joe Bailey Yoakum (1918 - 2011)
Joe Bailey Yoakum, 93, passed away Friday, Sept. 2, 2011. Graveside service: Was held at 3 p.m. Saturday in Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Joe was born in Fisher County July 8, 1918. He graduated from Newman High School in Sweetwater and continued his education at Texas Tech.
He learned to fly in Sweetwater and managed the airport there. Then, after instructing Civil Air Patrol students in Las Cruces, NM, he was a flight instructor for Army Cadets at Hicks Field in Fort Worth.
On Jan 12, 1941, he married Lois Bayless and this past January they celebrated 70 years of marriage.
He joined American Airlines in 1943 and flew as a co-pilot for 10 years and as a captain for 25 years. He flew from Canada to Mexico, from New York to San Francisco and many points in between and in many types of aircraft, including the Douglas DC-3, DC-6 and DC-7 and the Boeing 727.
Joe enjoyed ranching for 40 years in Commanche County, was a Ham radio operator and belonged to the Grey Eagles. He was also an avid reader. Joe and Lois have been members of the Birdville Baptist Church since 1951.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Lelia Jenkins Yoakum and Reagan Bliss Yoakum; brothers, Mark Chapman Yoakum and Teddy Mayo Yoakum; and a sister, Tommy Lou Williams.
Survivors: Wife, Lois Bernice Bayless Yoakum of Haltom City; sons, Michael Joe Yoakum of Fort Worth, Raymond Edmond Yoakum and wife, Carol, of Midland; daughter, Marilyn Lee Yoakum Lambert of Weatherford; sisters, Mary Ann Heald of Bedford and Grace Neeper of Hereford; grandchildren, Angela Harrison and husband, Marshall, of Big Lake, Amy Zimmerman and husband, Garland "Mack,"of Fort Worth, Megan Lambert of Denton, Adam Lambert of Houston; and great-grandchildren, Molly,Melanie and Matthew Harrison of Big Lake, Garland M. Zimmerman III and Jakob Zimmerman of Fort Worth.
Published in Star-Telegram on September 4, 2011