The Story of J W Tillery

Written By Betty Ann Tillery

October 20, 2014

J W was born at home in Buffalo, Freestone County, Texas on Oct 14, 1937 in a two room share-croppers house on the "Old Stafford Place". This was the second birth for his mom and dad. Just over eleven years earlier his older brother, Thomas Jefferson Jr, had died at birth. T J and Minnie were thrilled to finally have a beautiful, healthy boy and they named him Joyce Wendel. About three years later his parents lost another child named Clifford Ray, so J W grew up with no siblings.

As a boy he was quiet, friendly, and kind hearted. His dad was a farmer, carpenter, and a butcher and his mother was a strong woman who helped with the farm and took care of their home. There was no running water or electricity in their home. The bathroom was out back and the clothes were washed at the well located about a mile and a half from the house. Life was hard but he has fond memories of his early years as they moved from one nearby farm to the next. They had a simple lifestyle and he was very close to his mother and dad. His mother taught him to hunt and fish and they played together like she was a child herself. He loved being outdoors and exploring the woods.

When he was nine years old, his dad paid $68.00 for a three and one half acre tract of land, four miles from Buffalo, located on highway 75. It was on the north end of the old Crockett Ezell Estate between property owned by Heaney and Walter Ezell. T J bought $250.00 worth of lumber and supplies on credit from Reeder's Lumber Yard and built their home there. They got electricity in 1952 after President Eisenhower passed an initiative to get electrical services to all the rural areas. They dug several wells while they were there but never did get good water. His dad went to work for $20.00 a week in Plunkets Grocery Store and they raised a crop and sold produce on the side of the road to pay off the account at the lumber yard.

Even as a boy, J W was a hard worker. He helped break the ground for the planting with a pair of old mules named Red and Bell and worked side by side with his mom and dad at the cultivating, planting, and harvesting. He worked for neighbors whenever he could and earned the money to buy an old horse named Buster to help him get around faster. He loved that old horse and always remembered how sad he was the day his dad told him he had sold the horse because there was not enough money to buy feed for him.

The summer he was eleven years old God did a special miracle in his life. He became very ill and had a general achiness all over. The worst pain was in his legs and feet and he ran a very high fever. Dr Tinney and Dr Gage thought that he had Polio as the tendons in his heels were tight and his toes were pointed and stiff. The women of "Little Star Baptist Church" began a prayer vigil and he was healed with no lasting side effects in his early life. When he was about sixty years old the Polio diagnosis and the healing were both confirmed when a doctor who was reviewing an xray of his back told him "you have scoliosis of the spine, similar to someone who has had Polio". Praise The Lord for His goodness and mercy!

When J W was 13 years old he started working for Mr Ennis, a Jewish man who came to Buffalo from Kansas City Missouri to raise watermelons and cantaloupes on leased land. He was already working in the gas station and helping neighbors doing yard work, planting, castrating the bull calves and any other type of farm work so he was eager to help Mr Ennis. The first summer, he was paid $3.00 a day to work in the watermelon stand and for several more years he worked for $4.00 a day cultivating, pulling, loading and selling watermelons, seven days a week, daylight till dark, the whole summer. By the time he was a sophomore in High School, Mr Ennis depended on his help so much that J W missed 46 days of school working for him. He bought his own school clothes and supplies with the money he earned each year and helped his mom and dad. In his Senior Year he kept up his grades, got a perfect attendance award and still worked as many extra jobs as possible.

Whenever he could, he went to the movies at the movie theatre about four miles from his home. He saw mostly westerns as he really admired the stars of that day, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and John Wayne; but it was the "news reels" that brought him face to face with his real heroes. When they showed the pictures and information on WWII and the other conflicts overseas, he knew that he would proudly serve his country some day. His mother corresponded with his uncles and cousins that were in the war and in their reply's they would send messages to him, and sometimes a stick of gum. He was very aware of how personal the war was and what these men were doing for our country. When they came home, all dressed in their uniforms, his heart swelled with pride. His most memorable school program was when he was in second grade and some of the veterans came to tell of their experiences. One of his cousins had been physically wounded and even as a child J W could see the changes in the other veterans.

He left for Navy boot camp in San Diego, California on the day after his graduation from High School. There was an agreement with the recruiting officer not to use the name "Joyce" in his records. He says he was called Wendel in school and he had never been teased about his first name, but he was not sure the rest of the world would be so generous. It made his parents very sad to see him go but he had made up his mind. He loved the Navy life and he enjoyed being aboard ship and seeing all the new places and meeting new people. He thought that this was how he would spend his life until he met his future wife while he was stationed at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California where she was living. She said he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. She was a Texas girl with a strong commitment to God and their first date was to attend the Wednesday night service at her church. It was a new experience for him and he knew right away that he liked the whole package. He made a new commitment to God and they quickly fell in love and married about a year later.

When his tour of duty was over, they returned to Texas to be near their families here. He worked at several different jobs and then he went to work for FMC Corporation as a shop helper and worked his way up to Assistant Shop Superintendent. After working for them for 20 years, the plant closed in Houston and he went to work for the Spring Independent School District where he worked for 10 years before retiring. It was hard for him to retire because he was always a strong man and he loved to work. He missed the interaction with his fellow workers and the satisfaction he got from putting in a good days work, but he had gradually become disabled from a serious fall on the job in his early years at the School District.

J W was a loving and faithful, husband, father and friend. He felt his two daughters, Tammy and LeAnne, were the perfect gift from God and when his son, Jay, was born he knew his life was complete. He worked hard to provide for his family and was very proud and protective of them all. He had a beautiful relationship with his mother and father and they died knowing that he had never spoken a harsh word to them or been disrespectful. He took his responsibility to them very seriously and they thought he was "the perfect son". He loved and respected his wife's

family and had a special love for his wife's siblings that was a major force for good in their lives. As his family grew, he bonded with his new "in-laws" and loved and accepted them as his own. He felt he was "blessed beyond measure" and had the most wonderful wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in the world. He told each one that they were his favorite and each one truly was special to him. He was an enthusiastic witness for God and he enjoyed going to God's house and loved "his church family". He worked for many years in youth ministries and was happy to be of service wherever he was needed in his church. He treasured many close friendships that have lasted throughout his lifetime.

He liked to travel and read, and he devoted a lot of time to the study of American History and Bible Prophecy. He enjoyed simple outdoor pleasures like raising a garden, camping, hunting and fishing. He was very social and always looked forward to being with family and friends. He was known to have strong opinions as well as spiritual and political convictions that he felt were important and did not change. There was a confident and happy way about him and he loved to laugh and entertain others.