Funeral service for Kenneth Wayne Dillon, 54, of Nacogdoches will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 24, 2010, at Apostolic Lighthouse Church in Central Heights with the Rev. Brent Crosswhite and the Rev. Barry Rankin officiating. Burial will follow in the Sunset Memorial Park. Mr. Dillon died Monday, April 19, 2010, in Nacogdoches. He was born November 28, 1955, in Orange, Texas, to Forrest A. and Nina Sims Dillon. He lived most of his life in the Nacogdoches area and was a member of the Apostolic Lighthouse Church. Mr. Dillon was a loving husband and father and was devoted to his family. He had attended Angelina College and Stephen F. Austin State University and had last worked as a truck driver for an oil field service company. He was preceded in death by his mother, Nina Dillon; and sister, Elizabeth Dillon. Survivors include his wife, Tina Dillon of Nacogdoches; daughters, Rebecca Dillon, Anna Marie Sherman, Candace Michelle Dillon and Nina Grace Dillon, all of Nacogdoches; sons and daughters-in-law, Jacob Wayne and Christina Dillon, James P. and Amanda Sherman, Kyle Wayne Fears and Asa Dean Dillon, all of Nacogdoches; father, Forrest A. Dillon of Nacogdoches; brothers and sisters-in-law, Forrest Ray and Renee Dillon of Dickinson, Texas, Ricky Dillon of Anaheim, California, and Kevin and Marcia Dillon of Nacogdoches; and grandchildren, Landon Anderson, Braxton Anderson, Elissa Mitchell and Mason Dillon. Pallbearers will be Paul Sims Jr., Jacob Dillon, Forrest Ray Dillon, Kevin Dillon, Kevin Bandy and James P. Sherman. Honorary pallbearers will be Ricky Dillon, Freddy Bird and Olan Woodard. Visitation is scheduled from 7 until 9 p.m. Friday, April 16, 2010, at Apostolic Lighthouse Church in Central Heights. The church will be open for delivery of flowers. An account has been established at Huntington State Bank for those who would like to contribute to an education fund for the children. Dickie Allen Funeral Home, Cushing.
Funeral service for Mr. Worth R. Jacobs, 83, of Nacogdoches, Texas, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at Perritte Memorial United Methodist Church with Rev. Nick Scholar of Lufkin First Methodist Church and Rev. David Brasher of Perritte Memorial United Methodist Church officiating. Burial will follow at Simpson Campground Cemetery. Mr. Jacobs was born June 27, 1926, in Woden, Texas, to the late William Jefferson "Billy" Jacobs and Pearl King Jacobs, and he passed away peacefully Sunday, April 25, 2010, in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Jacobs' family ancestors rolled into Nacogdoches County Christmas Day 1836. They established their farms in the southeastern area of Nacogdoches County, then known as Jacobs Community and currently known as Woden, Texas. At that time, Indians were still living in the vicinity and had a campsite where Jacobs Chapel is now located. The family fought the last Indian battle in Nacogdoches County. The Jacobs built their home overlooking the Puentezullas Creek and, as a farming family, began to clear the land as soon as possible. They raised and grew all their food and bought the few supplies they needed in Melrose. Every descendent has been involved in agriculture, in one way or another. They have farmed the land of this community for five generations and still counting. Worth graduated in 1943, at the age of 16, as valedictorian of Woden High School. He met his future bride at a community ball game in Woden, and they were married January 1, 1949, by Bro. Gerrard at his home. Worth and his brothers, Wayne and Wyman, were heavily involved in the cattle business all their lives, Worth worked in the poultry business, as well. Their father, Billy Jacobs, was a cattle inspector for the state of Texas. Worth bought partnership in Patton's Auction Barn, when he was in his late 30s. His brother Wayne bought out Worth's partner, and together they owned one of the largest meeting places for local farmers and ranchers in Nacogdoches County. Worth and his brother always supported the local Nacogdoches County Junior Steer Show. He was a member of Texas Farm Bureau and had served as president of the Woden ISD board. The Jacobs family was honored March 31, 2008, as the Farm Family of the Year at the seventh Annual Agriculture Appreciation and Awards Banquet. Worth passed down to his children and grandchildren his love of the land and agriculture. Worth is survived by his wife of 61 years, Earline McLain Jacobs of Nacogdoches; one son, Stephen Jacobs and wife, Lola of Woden; one daughter, Stacy Jacobs of Woden; a brother, Wyman Jacobs of Woden; one sister-in-law, Dorothy Jacobs of Nacogdoches; two grandchildren, Stephen Alders and Kristen Borders, both of Houston; three step-grandchildren, Joseph Sadler of Houston and Andrew and Naomi Sadler of Woden; as well as numerous nieces, nephews and other extended family and good friends. Pallbearers will be Larry Jacobs, Lance Jacobs, Randy McLain, John Rulfs, Mark Skeeters, Bob Skeeters, Paul Clifton, Jamey Brookshire and Richard Sparks. Memorial donations can be made to Perritte Memorial United Methodist Church, Jacobs Chapel Cemetery or Simpson Campground Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be held from 5 until 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 27, 2010, at Laird Funeral Home. To offer condolence or sign and online register book or view the video tribute please log onto lairdfh.net. Laird Funeral Home.
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No matter how many times Clint Dempsey, a Nacogdoches native, scores in this tournament, he probably won’t be joining that esteemed and colorful list of the most enterprising on-field revelers. However, no celebration at the World Cup carries as much significance to its performer as to Dempsey, who religiously signals to the heavens and utters a few words under his breath every time he scores a goal.
Television viewers might have been puzzled by the little ceremony he performed after his tame long-range effort slipped past Robert Green during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with England in Rustenburg. The reason is to pay tribute to his late sister Jennifer, who died of a brain aneurysm at the age of 16 in 1995, a tragedy Dempsey carries with him to this day.
“She is always in my thoughts and it is something that never leaves you,” Dempsey said. “Every time I score I like to give her a little message, to remember her, to represent her and how she was.”
Jennifer Dempsey was a precociously talented rising tennis star apparently destined for greatness. The Dempsey family invested heavily in her future, spending thousands of dollars to enable her to travel from their humble home in Nacogdoches to professional tournaments.
That cost meant Dempsey, four years younger than his sister, had to briefly scale down his soccer aspirations, as the family could no longer afford the gas for the six-hour round trip to Dallas to play for a representative team.
Dempsey still remembers the worst day of his life with a chilling clarity. It was the day he was summoned home from a friend’s house to receive the devastating news.
“They said Jennifer had fainted,” he told the Guardian newspaper. “She’d actually had a brain aneurysm. My dad found her and he was freaking out. I can remember, really clearly, arriving at the hospital and a little doubt forming in the back of mind: 'What if this is it? What if my sister dies today?’
“You get there and everyone is crying. They tell you and your heart falls from your chest. You hit the ground and you cry for hours. You cry until your head aches.”
It took Dempsey a full year to get over it, to put some kind of structure and reasoning back into his young life. He found his solace in his first love, soccer, and threw himself into the sport with a fresh determination.
And a new goal celebration.
“It’s weird because I remember something she told me,” he said. “We would talk about death and she said, 'If I ever pass away, do you want me to come back and let you know I’m OK?’ I said: 'No, that would scare me too bad!’ We talked about it some more and she said, 'Well, if I ever die I will help you get the ball in the net.’ And that’s why I look up to the sky now when I score – to remember her.”
National team fans have become increasingly grateful for Dempsey’s goals in recent times. No other American has scored on the biggest stage in soccer for eight years, with Dempsey’s strike against Ghana in the 2006 World Cup being the only goal by the U.S. (Italy’s Cristian Zaccardo scored an own goal against USA in ’06).
Dempsey’s progress since joining English Premier League side Fulham three years ago has been impressive and he has blossomed under the tutelage of manager Roy Hodgson. He is now, along with Landon Donovan, the U.S.’s primary attacking midfield threat.
Spectacular goals have become the forte of Dempsey, whose magical strike to beat Italian giant Juventus in the Europa League being the highlight of his season.
With the USA needing to beat Slovenia on Friday to enhance its bid for the knockout stage, Bob Bradley’s men would love to see Dempsey have another chance to salute his sister.
“It makes me feel pretty good to have things this way,” Dempsey said recently to Yahoo! Sports. “The moments I signal to her, it is a happy time because I have just scored a goal. So she becomes symbolic with happiness, and that is a great way for me to remember her.”
