Helen Day

Mrs. Day was born in Brownwood, to John J. and Letitia Shepherd Skiles on May 15, 1918. He worked for Railway Express, and Letitia was a homemaker. Elizabeth, who was soon nicknamed "Beth," graduated from Lometa High School in 1935, when the public school system provided only 11 grades. After graduation, Beth worked for the local telephone company in Lometa. She married Thomas Elbert "Buddy" Day on Dec. 11, 1938. He owned a service station for a time before he went to work for the county commissioner. Mr. Day and a friend formed a road construction company, which stayed in business throughout the war years, but in 1947, the family answered the call of the city and moved to Fort Worth, where several uncles and aunts had already bought neighborhood grocery stores. They sold the store in the Morningside area seven years later. He went to work as the manager of Vandergriff Chevrolet's investment company in Arlington, and Mrs. Day accepted a job with Boswell Dairies in the billing department. After the family bought a house in the Meadowbrook area on Fort Worth's east side, she changed jobs and worked for Traveler's Insurance Co. until her retirement in June 1979. After Mr. Day died in 1980, Mrs. Day traveled extensively and continued her hobby of gardening. She served as secretary of the College Heights Garden Club and she was active in the Handley chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, where she was a 50-year member. She was also an active member of AARP and Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth. Mrs. Day moved to Chisolm Trail Estates in Keene in 1995, and later to Town Hall Estates in Whitney. Survivors include her only child, longtime Hill County high school teacher Kathi Higgins; grandchildren, Leslie O'Neil and husband, Ted O'Neil Jr., of Whitney and Darrell Higgins and his wife, Cindy Day Higgins, of Rio Vista; great-grandchildren, Ashley Higgins Langston and her husband, Levi, of Blum, Brandon O'Neil of Whitney, Craig O'Neil of Whitney and Reagan Higgins and Macy Higgins of Blum; stepgreat-grandchildren, Austin Day of Rio Vista and Brandon Day of Kennedale; and great-great-grandchild, Makenzie Paige Langston of Blum. Pallbearers will be members of the church youth department, Brandon O'Neil, great-grandson Craig O'Neil, great-grandson Dan Brunson, CCBC Youth Director, Ryan Clift of Whitney, Tre Neuman of Whitney and Colton Yarbro of Itasca. Memorials: Cedar Creek Baptist Church Youth Department, 5643 FM 933, Whitney, Texas 76692.