On February 13, 2026, Neal Layton Pearson joined his maker in Houston, Texas at the age of 79, surrounded by his loving and devoted family, after his long battle with cancer. He was famously tenacious, the kind of man who'd sit through a 22-inning baseball game just to see how it ended and who brought that same stubborn grit to his toughest opponent of all, fighting cancer the only way he knew how: with a determination to stay in the game.

Born on August 12, 1946, in Kansas City, Missouri, Layton was the son of the late Neal Layton Pearson Sr. (Bill) and Mabel Pearson. He graduated from high school in 1965 and earned his business degree from Southwest Baptist College where he met the love of his life Mary Barnes Pearson.

Layton is survived by his loyal and devoted wife of fifty-eight years Mary Barnes Pearson, his sons Doug Pearson and Wes Pearson; Daughters-in-Law - Karen Pearson and Alisa Ortiz; Grandchildren - Alexandra Pearson Fort, Ian Pearson and Chris Seagler and their spouses Katelyn Seagler and Davis Fort; Sister - Linda Pearson Simms; Sister-in-law - Sherrie Cain and her husband Gary Cain; Nieces - Tara Simms, Tammy Divin Herbert and Cathy Divin Lowry; Nephew - Troy Simms; Great Great Children - Aaron Seagler and Logan Seagler.

He was a devoted husband, father, and very proud grandfather. He adored his wife with a loyalty that was steady and unwavering. Layton married his college sweetheart on August 26, 1968. Mary, the joyous miracle in his life—the steady hand, the laughter in the kitchen and the only heart that made him feel at home. Together they raised their two loyal and devoted sons, guiding them with steady hands and strong values and shaping them into responsible, principled men.

A kind and warm man who loved God, loved his family and loved a properly structured contract. Not just signing them — studying them. He believed in terms, conditions and accountability. But the most important agreement of his life was the covenant he made before God and the daily promises he made to his family: to lead, to protect, to provide and to love without the fine print.

He loved a good pitch — whether it was the arc of a fastball, the rise of a mountain trail at sunrise or a well -timed proposal — and that instinct for the right angle carried him far in life, earning him successes he was proud of and adventures he generously shared with his family on trips near and far. He leaves behind a well-worn Bible, a remote forever tuned to sports, neatly stacked policy folders and a life shaped by faith, family and firm convictions.

A celebration of Layton's life will be on Saturday, March 7th at Klein Funeral Home-Champions at 2pm - 16131 Champion Forest Dr, Spring, TX 77379.

A Letter to -My Friend Butch Pearson

I first came to know who Layton Pearson was when we were both freshman at Southwest Baptist College. I was one of the dreaded town students and he was the college student from Blue Springs, MO who drove that goofy colored blue Plymouth. Tanny lived on campus and probably knew him much better than I did. Since I lived off campus and he lived on campus we were barely aware of each other's existence at the time. I learned his nickname was Butch and so he remains to me.

It was not until several years later after Tanny and I were married; I had finished mortuary school and moved back to Bolivar that a long friendship grew.

He and Mary were married, and he was working at the walnut plant with Mary's Dad, Bhuford, and Grandfather, Dewey. Mary and I grew up in Bolivar, attended Bolivar High School. She was a couple of years younger than I.

We started getting together to play cards and games depending on when they could get Doug to bed to stay.

Mary and Tanny would go on shopping trips to Springfield, pick strawberries or just hang out. Butch and I would be best described as not doing much. Sometimes we would go to Springfield to eat out or go to a Mel Brooks movie and sit and laugh loudly.

One summer we all went to Lake of the Ozark where Bhuford and Lois had a cabin for a week. Lots of fun fishing, boating and playing in the water. Since I didn't swim, Butch was going to teach me to float on my back. One problem was that I could get on my back, but my rear kept sinking. Butch determined that I must have "lead in my butt" so I never mastered that.

One of the special treats on that trip was a tunnel of fudge cake. Sadly, it came out of the oven in a somewhat charred state. By golly, we were going to eat it or so we thought. After a couple of valiant attempts, we admitted defeat.

Butch and I may have been some of the original do-it-yourselfers. Tanny and I lived in a little 4 room house with a bathroom, shower, back porch and basement. 2 rooms downstairs and 2 upstairs.

There was no heat in the upstairs bedrooms and David was a baby. I found an electric heater at Bolivar Hardware that ran on 220 electricity. So, I asked Butch if he thought we could run wiring from the upstairs to the electric box in the basement. No problem he said. After lugging the heater from upstairs to the basement to measure the wire length needed, we got busy. Butch drilled a hole in the wall to the basement so I can then see and drill to come through. Butch came up the stairs from the basement to help me feed the wire down the stairs. He came through the doorway and in his excitement the heater cord was near his progress. Evidently the cord was plugged into the upstairs outlet. The wire shorted. The wire insulation melted. The wire I was standing on, or must have been, was blown up in small pieces. We disconnected the upstairs for the first time. Demand for our services, we went on to our next project.

Another example of Butch's helpfulness was when Mary and Tanny were having a garage sale at the Pearson's house. Just so the helpful Butch brought the forklift from the walnut plant to move big boxes. All went well until one of the forks of the forklift went through the sheet rock of the garage wall. Oops!

When we got together either at our house or their house, after the kids got to bed, we played cards or board games. We played Hearts, Spat, Nerts and Pitch. Tanny and Mary were usually partners playing Pitch. Butch and I were infrequent winners, but when we did win Butch had something similar to a victory routine complete with hand motions and a victory chant. We were accused of being poor losers and even worse winners.

We used to play Monopoly sometimes, but in order to speed up the game along, Butch liked to deal out the property cards and then trade them among each other for property you wanted. This worked fine until the rest of us would trade with each other but refused to trade with Butch. He usually ended the game early, which was the whole purpose anyway.

After Butch and Mary moved to Texas, we made a few trips to visit them. Our family's first trip with Tanny, David, Emily, Amy and I was to Texas. This was unusual because the funeral home kept us pretty close. It was unusual for us to be gone altogether and even more unusual we flew. The first time for our kids. They still talk about that trip and what we did in Texas.

There were other trips, but this was pretty special to Tanny and me. On our last trip a few years ago, as usual, we went to Galveston. It was a fun time spent at the ocean, touring some old, restored houses, eating seafood and shopping.

One shopping stop was at an upscale flea market. When we entered Tanny and Mary went one way, Butch and I in the other direction. Butch and I were admiring the unusual collection of driftwood. The pieces were individually priced. Wearing bifocals and trying to read prices on a low display requires a couple of things, bending over and backing up to read better, on the price. Why did we care about the price since we weren't going to buy any? Well, while focusing and backing up Butch backed into a floor lamp that went crashing to the floor. Mary and Tanny heard the crash across the store and suspected right off the source and cause. We learned the lamp's globe was an antique and if I recall correctly the cost for doing so was $300. Luckily, when we found someone to help, we described the lamp to the manager who contacted the artisan and found he had a replacement globe. If I recall correctly the store going to was $300. Luckily, when we filled a mis-stepped step and broke the plate glass window. Mary and Tanny escorted us out before further damage occurred.

Twelve or so years ago I was in the middle of a set of health crises. A few years earlier I had been told I had Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). It was a type that required no medication, only regular blood tests to monitor it. Then in 2021 I contracted COVID and while still recovering from it, I was diagnosed with a second cancer which ultimately was identified as Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Luckily, we have in Bolivar's Cancer Center a Russian oncologist with a world‑wide reputation, and he was setting up my treatment.

I got a call from Butch. He had learned of the diagnosis. He wanted to come to Texas, stay with them and go to M.D. Anderson. He had already been in touch with his doctor at M.D. Anderson, who had treated his prostate cancer, to see if he could help in getting me an appointment. I ultimately stayed with our local cancer and thankfully have had outstanding results. I got off the phone with tears in my eyes thinking he didn't have to do that. Then, I was reminded of the song by Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder, "That's What Friends Are For." That's what Butch was, my friend.

We've had more frequent phone conversations in the past few months as his cancer became increasingly aggressive and the prognosis was not the best. Every time we talked, he was upbeat, saying he was in the best place in the country for cancer treatments and anyway, "it's in God's hands."

I am thankful for the years our families had together and all the wonderful memories. The theme song from the TV show, "The Golden Girls," sums it up for me, "Thank You for Being a Friend."  We love you Butch Pearson.

- Kenneth Murray

Arrangements in the care of Klein Funeral Home.