Submitted by Carol Fulenwider
Esther Oleta Carney Fulenwider Reatherford will be 100 years old on Sunday, May 24. A party to celebrate her birthday will be held that day at the Van Alstyne Senior Center. A barbeque meal and birthday cake will be served from noon until 2pm or 3pm. Esther’s family is hoping that everyone who has been her friend during the past century will come to help celebrate. Birthday cards will be welcome but no presents please.
Esther was just a toddler when her parents Bill & Julie Carney moved their little family from Arkansas to live in Grayson County Texas. Everything the couple owned was carried in a covered wagon, and they settled on a share-cropper farm in the Collinsville area. Esther was the oldest of eight. The Carney family lived on several farms, first to the East, then the West of Van Alstyne, and in 1937 moved into town.
Soon after graduation, Esther married Emmitt Fulenwider and over the next 18 or so years the couple had eleven (11) children. One boy died at birth and two of her sons, Roy and Carl, died within the recent past. Esther’s remaining children and their spouses are giving her the party for her 100th birthday, May 24.
In 1965, Esther married Jack Reatherford. The couple and 5 of the Fulenwider children lived in-between Sherman and Denison until they bought a home in the Louella community. Before Jack’s death in 2006, he and Esther were active in the Veteran’s organizations. Jack was the senior officer of the American Legion in Sherman and Esther was Vice President several times. They often represented the organization at the state convention. Also, Jack called Bingo for many years and Esther went along to play, often taking some of “her boys.”
Most of Esther’s children live in or near Grayson County. The oldest daughter Mary and husband Bob Reed live in Pilot Point. The second daughter Eddie Lee and husband Paul Purdom have a home in Van Alstyne. Youngest daughter Gale and husband Bill Cox live in Tom Bean. The Fulenwider sons include Alford (wife Joyce) of Whitesboro; John (wife Linda) who live near Denton; and oldest son Bill (wife Carol) who live in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Esther’s youngest sons Dale and Lewis Fulenwider are single and live with her.
Each of the six couples has children, grandchildren and two have great-grandchildren, making Esther a great, great grandmother. It is hoped that all these dozens of Fulenwider immediate family members will be at the Senior Center in Van Alstyne on Sunday, May 24th, along with her only remaining sister Dorothy, and as many “nieces, nephews, grand and greats” who are able to come to this once-in-a-lifetime event. They cordially invite the dozens of friends who still remember Esther from at least one stage in her long life.
A barbeque lunch and cake will be served from noon until 2 or 3pm at the Van Alstyne Senior Center. Everyone who knows her is urged to come. Cards would be great! No presents please. Her birthday, Sunday May 24 from noon until 3 or so.
Hosts/Hostesses
: Esther’s eight remaining children.
Gale Cox of Tom Bean
Eddylee Purdom of Van Alstyne
Mary Reed of Pilot Point
John of Denton
Alford of Whitesboro
Bill of Pagosa Springs, CO
Dale & Lewis of Louella
