Posted 8:44 pm Thursday, September 20, 2012
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Bennie Ruth Douglas
8/21/27 ~ 9/17/12
Bennie Ruth Douglas was born to Emma Jewell Costlow and Benjamin Franklin Douglas and raised in Poynor. She was predeceased by her parents and five older brothers, Willie, Maxie, Cecil, “Son” and an infant. Bennie suffered from mantle cell lymphoma and COPD, from which she succumbed on Sept. 17, 2012.
The first of her family to attend college, she studied at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin, attaining her teaching certification at East Texas Teacher’s College in Commerce. Not yet 20, she was teaching English to seniors barely younger than she. For 30 years, she urged and inspired with her dedication and inquiring mind.
In 1947, she married Stone Haynes, with whom she had three children to whom she was devoted. Divorced in 1962, she moved to Tyler, where she taught English and American literature at Moore Junior High.
After retiring, Bennie traveled extensively throughout America and Europe while living quietly on her small farm in Poynor, surrounded by serene views and the love and laughter of family and friends.
In 1975, she wrote and self-published “Melody of Poynor: A History,” a book recounting the history of the area, which included anecdotes gleaned from interviews with local personalities.
Bennie was valued, loved and immeasurably important as a guiding light of integrity, honor and fairness to all who knew and loved her. Her reassuring presence, wisdom and humor will be missed but her legacy remains as a beacon of goodness and example of a life well lived.
She leaves three children, Linda Haynes Landsidle of Los Gatos, Calif., Barbara Dianne Haynes Smith of Poynor, Benjamin Stone Haynes of Poynor; eight grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and numerous extended family members and friends.
A memorial service will be held at Autry Funeral Home in Frankston at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in the name of Bennie Ruth Douglas “Pickle” benefiting The Hospice of East Texas, 4111 University Blvd., Tyler, 75701.
The first of her family to attend college, she studied at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin, attaining her teaching certification at East Texas Teacher’s College in Commerce. Not yet 20, she was teaching English to seniors barely younger than she. For 30 years, she urged and inspired with her dedication and inquiring mind.
In 1947, she married Stone Haynes, with whom she had three children to whom she was devoted. Divorced in 1962, she moved to Tyler, where she taught English and American literature at Moore Junior High.
After retiring, Bennie traveled extensively throughout America and Europe while living quietly on her small farm in Poynor, surrounded by serene views and the love and laughter of family and friends.
In 1975, she wrote and self-published “Melody of Poynor: A History,” a book recounting the history of the area, which included anecdotes gleaned from interviews with local personalities.
Bennie was valued, loved and immeasurably important as a guiding light of integrity, honor and fairness to all who knew and loved her. Her reassuring presence, wisdom and humor will be missed but her legacy remains as a beacon of goodness and example of a life well lived.
She leaves three children, Linda Haynes Landsidle of Los Gatos, Calif., Barbara Dianne Haynes Smith of Poynor, Benjamin Stone Haynes of Poynor; eight grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and numerous extended family members and friends.
A memorial service will be held at Autry Funeral Home in Frankston at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in the name of Bennie Ruth Douglas “Pickle” benefiting The Hospice of East Texas, 4111 University Blvd., Tyler, 75701.
