Obituaries from the Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015 edition.
Abel Beauchamp
1948-2015
Abel Beauchamp, 67, of Avondale, La. and formerly of Snyder, died Monday, Oct. 26, 2015 at the West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Miller Family Funeral Home.
William Pelzel
William Leo Pelzel passed from this life to the arms of his Lord on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. He was 90 years old and lived every day to the fullest.
Visitation will be held from 1-3 p.m. Thursday at Johnson’s Funeral Home in San Angelo. A rosary will be held at 3 p.m. in the funeral home chapel.
Bill donated his body to the Texas Tech University Medical Center for research.
Graveside service will be held at a later date.
He was preceded in death by his wife Doris (Gerngross) Pelzel; his parents, Fritz and Margaret (Witzsche) Pelzel; two brothers and one sister-in-law, Wilburn and Ruby Dell Pelzel and Dennis Pelzel; an infant daughter, Teresa; three infant grandchildren, Rusty Tatsch, Jennifer Tatsch and Christian Pelzel; and one granddaughter Kylie Stewart.
He is survived by his children, David Pelzel and his wife, Janice, of San Angelo, Ann Johnson and her husband, Damon, of Snyder and Marie Stewart and her husband, Lyn, of Eager, Ariz.; three brothers, James Pelzel and his wife, Marcela, of Rosebud, Calvin Pelzel and his wife, Mary Ann, of Wall and Fred Pelzel and his wife, Nancy, of San Angelo; two sisters-in-law and one brother-in-law, Carol Pelzel of San Angelo and Agnes and Pat St. Thomas of Rome, N.Y.; his grandchildren, Kathy Novian and her husband, David, of Fredericksburg, Mikel Pelzel and his wife, Sommer, of Miles, Daniel Pelzel of San Angelo, Jason Tatsch and his wife, Megan, and Randy Tatsch, both of Christoval, Clayton Stewart and his fiancée, Eleise Crosby, of Mesa, Ariz. and Clay Johnson of Snyder; his great-grandchildren, Savannah Pelzel, Landon Pelzel, Rebakah Pelzel, Kase Pelzel, Jaylee Tatsch, Mike Pelzel, Dax Pelzel and Jaymi Stewart; and his special friend and high school sweetheart, Jerline Wieschuhn.
Bill was born the second of six sons in the farming community of Westphalia. He went to school in Olfen and retained those friends all his life. He could tell us where everybody lived, whose farms joined each other, where the best fishing spots were and where the dove were flying. He retained a great love for nature and a respect for all living creatures.
He told us his favorite place to go was the deer camp in Fort McKavett with his best friend, Elmer Halfmann, and his hunting buddies. Everything revolved around the deer camp and deer season, and off-season was getting everything ready for deer season.
Bill joined the U.S. Navy and served his country proudly in the South Pacific theater. He liked to tell us his Navy stories and that his greatest adventure was World War II.
He married Doris Gerngross in Olfen on Aug. 20, 1946 at St. Boniface Catholic Church. They farmed for a while and moved to San Angelo, where Bill became a carpenter. He worked on numerous buildings and construction sites in and around San Angelo.
In 1954, he took his young family to Cocoa Beach, Fla. and built houses for the new NASA space complex. He retired as the business agent for the Carpenters Local Union No. 411 in San Angelo.
He loved tinkering in his shop and making bird houses and wooden spoons for all of us. He taught his son-in-law, Lyn, and his grandsons how to use carpentry tools and how to make useful things from scraps of wood. He loved to teach them magic tricks and show them how the old toys were made.
Bill told us his greatest achievement was his children. Seeing them be successful in life made him proud. He told us what he missed most was a good cup of coffee and a piece of Doris’ homemade pie. He missed going to mass at Sacred Heart, where he was a member since 1949. He missed driving his race car and hugging his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We will miss his humor, his telephone calls, his stories, his cards and notes and his smile.
The family would like to thank Dr. John Harvey for his compassionate care, the nurses at Shannon 4 South, the nurses at Hospice of San Angelo, the staff at Royal Estates and the staff at Regency House for their care in the difficult last days Bill shared with us.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Sack Lunch Ministry, 20 E. Beauregard, San Angelo, TX 76901 or Hospice of San Angelo, 36 E. Twohig, Ste. 1100, San Angelo, TX 76901.
Our proud sailor gave us his last salute and received his orders to travel home. We wish you calm seas, a gentle breeze and clear skies. Sail on William. Sail on.