Don A. Housewright's Obituary
HOUSEWRIGHT, DON born on June 9, 1923 in Wylie, Texas and passed away on July 5, 2010 at the age of 87 from complications of COPD. Don was the fourth of eight children born to Pat and Lucy Housewright, long time residents of Wylie. He spent his youth working on the family farm, where they raised produce for the local school district. Nicknamed “Slats”, Don was a star basketball player and three-year letterman for the Pirates. He was a top all-around athlete and also played football, baseball and ran track for his school. After graduating from Wylie High School in 1941, Don went to work in Houston, TX until the attack on Pearl Harbor drew America into World War II. He signed up with the new Army-Air Force and began flight training in 1942 at Searcy Field in Stillwater, OK; he was assigned to the 322nd Troop Carrier Wing and flew troops and supplies all across the South Pacific, mainly out of the Philippines. After the war, he married his high school sweetheart, Gladys Ross, on August 3, 1946. They celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary last summer. Also in 1946, Don began a 31 year career with Earl Hayes Enterprises, beginning as an assistant bookkeeper in the Chevrolet dealership and advancing through the ranks to Executive Vice President of Hayes Enterprises. He served on Avis’ National Advertising Board and chaired Texas’ largest transportation trade association. The Hayes’ corporation also owned the Valet Parking lots in Dallas Love Field and Houston Hobby Airport, which he headed as well. As a result of this work, he became heavily involved in the planning stages of ground transportation at DFW International Airport. After retiring from Hayes Enterprises, he partnered with his younger brother, Buck to establish Printing by Buck, a commercial printing shop located in Cockrell Hill, where he remained for 20 years until his real retirement in 1997 at the age of 74. The company still operates today. Don and his family lived most of their lives in Oak Cliff and were longtime members of Wesley Methodist Church. For many years he served as Treasury of the church, but was most known as the coach of the church’s women’s volleyball and basketball teams, which went to the state championships. Later he and his wife transferred to Elmwood Methodist also in Oak Cliff. He is survived by a large and loving family — his wife, Gladys; children, Mark Housewright and Marsha Summers Carr; grandchildren, Gary Summers, Kelly Housewright Grisham, Nicki Carr Schmid and Jill Housewright; great grandchildren, Kyle and Adam Schmid, Haley Housewright and Riley Grisham; brothers, Mickey and Buck; sister, Maxine Kinser and a large number of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Opal Ryan and Edith Morris; brothers, L.D. and Kenneth. Services will be held at 10:00AM, Friday, July 9, 2010 in the Wildwood Chapel with visitation 1 hour prior to the service at Wildwood. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, in honor of Don’s great grandson, Adam Schmid, a TSRH patient.
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