Our Home Town: Floydada, Texas

Floydada is prominent in the more recent history for our family branches of Hanks and Warren's. Great grandfather Tobe Hanks migrated to Hardeman County, Texas from Arkansas but it was Floydada where he later made his home in 1911. Three years later, in 1914, two brothers, Grandfather Tom Warren and Great Uncle Russell Warren, made…

Billy Lawton Hanks (1936 – 2015)

Uncle Billy loved to talk. He and Aunt Betty talked an hour or two on the phone almost daily. When interviewing him I asked him to let me know if he got tired because he'd just gotten out of the hospital. Billy replied, "I don't get tired of talking. I get out of breath sometimes…

Glenna Mae Hanks (1929 – 2003)

Words thoughtfully written for Aunt Glenna's obituary read, "Glenna was a loving and gentle woman who would give anyone in need a helping hand and a shoulder to cry on or just an ear to listen to our problems." When thinking about how to begin Glenna's post I kept returning to that description because it…

Helen Anniece Hanks (1924 – 1991)

The most treasured gift I've had in my life is a recording of my mother reviewing her life. I asked questions I wouldn't have thought to ask if it wasn't for a class I was taking on aging with an assignment to interview an older person about their life development. Mother was happy to help…

Colleen “Laverne” Hanks (1922 – 2014)

Aunt Laverne knew a girl's heart. At least she did mine. She brought me an exotic pretty doll from Puerto Rico when I was about ten. Mother wanted to put it away and save it for Christmas. I felt like having a crying fit but Aunt Laverne convinced her to let me have it without…

Fred Farrar Hanks (1920 – 1955)

Most of us bask in the glory of our family heroes. Truth be told, our family wished, instead, that Uncle Fred could had lived a long fruitful life rather than dying at age 35 and being posthumously recognized as a hero over four decades later. Regardless, if anyone in the Hanks family was to be…

Aubrey “Earl” Hanks (1915 – 1953)

Uncle Aubrey "Earl" Hanks was born to Mattie Mae Meador and Aubrey E Hanks in Lockney, Texas, on June 22, 1915. He was a fair haired, blue eyed, handsome boy and was the first grandchild of his paternal grandparents. Sadly, his charmed beginning ended unhappily. He died at the young age of 37 estranged from…

Aubrey E Hanks (1896 – 1983)

Aubrey E Hanks, born April 14, 1896, in Atkins, Arkansas, to Elmus Tobe Hanks and Minnie Mae Smith, was my maternal grandfather. He had three siblings. His older brother, Gerald, died at 3 months in 1892 before Aubrey was born. Aubrey's older sister, Mamie Iola, died eight months after he was born. His younger sister,…

Minnie Mae Smith (1873 – 1942)

My maternal great grandmother, Minnie Mae Smith, was born August 12, 1873, in Bartholomew County, Indiana, to John Speed Smith and Julia Ann Lipps. She and my maternal great grandfather, Elmus "Tobe" Hanks, made their way to Floyd County, Texas, by 1911. Memories of Minnie Mae are only through my mother because Minnie Mae died…

Clifford Isaiah Warren (1920 – 1997)

I don't need to tell you that addiction is heart breaking. Most families are touched by it and I suspect tragedies have happened in our Warren family because of it. Those things were not discussed with children so it took me a while to understand. As I grew older I began to see first hand…