Lawrence E. Dooley

Lawrence (Larry) E. Dooley, 88, passed away Thursday, April 26, 2012 at Hendrick Medical Center. Funeral services will be 2 PM Monday, April 30, at First Baptist Church in Abilene. Burial will follow in Mount Hope Cemetery in Anson directed by The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road in Abilene. The family will receive friends at a visitation from 3 to 5 PM on Sunday, April 29, at the funeral home. Larry was born on June 18, 1923 on the family farm at Ireland, Texas in Hamilton County to James Thomas Dooley and Lottie Faubion Dooley. Larry was a loving husband, father, and brother. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Jo Dooley; his daughter Suzy and husband Ken Thomas of Anson; granddaughter Terri Herring and husband Robert of Allen, TX; grandson Dr. Jeff Thomas and wife Heather of Frisco, TX; great-grandchildren, Adam and Jordan Herring and Jaxson and Haven Thomas; sister-in-law Hazel Dooley of San Angelo, TX; and "foster" son Jose Guerra and wife Marycela and son Alejandro of Monterrey, Mexico; many nieces and nephews, friends and ex-students. Larry was preceded in death by his father and mother; his three brothers, Jimmy of Hamilton, Alfred (Dutch) of San Antonio, and Roscoe (Red) of San Angelo; his sister Eunice Risinger of Houston and nephew J.D. Risinger of Houston. Larry graduated in the class of 1939 from Ireland High School and went to Tarleton College for 2 years, then on to Texas A&M where he received his B.S. degree in Agricultural Education in 1944. Because of having a double hernia, he had been rejected from the Corps at A&M and then was declared '4F' by the Army after graduation. Determined to follow his three older brothers in the defense of his country during WWII, he taught Vocational Agriculture in DeLeon in the fall semester of 1945 in order to get enough money to have the hernias repaired so that the military would accept him for service. After acceptance, he went to OCS in Ft. Benning, GA and was stationed at the OBASCOM Headquarters on Okinawa for 2 years. After WWII, Mr. Dooley chose to remain in the Army Reserve. During this time in the Army Reserve, he served in the 490th Civil Affairs Unit in Abilene. The unit was called to active duty for a year in 1961-62 during the "Berlin Crisis" and was stationed at Fort Gordon, GA. Even though the call to active duty presented many problems, both personal and professional, for the 490th personnel, he was always pleased and proud to serve his country until his retirement as a Lt. Colonel in February 1976. Mr. Dooley started the Vocational Agriculture Department at Anson High School in 1948 where he was later joined by J.F. Dozier. The two worked together, helping the department to grow into one of the outstanding Ag Departments in the state winning many trophies for animal production and banners in FFA leadership contests. He served as the County Superintendent of Schools for two years before being called to active duty in 1961. After returning from Georgia, Mr. Dooley decided to return to college in order to become a Guidance Counselor and in May 1965, he received a second Master's Degree from ACU. He served as Guidance Counselor at Lincoln Middle School for six years. He was asked to serve as Guidance Consultant at the Region XIV Education Service Center where he helped the guidance counselors in the smaller schools of Region XIV and acted as liaison between the small school counselor and the State Office of Education. He worked with many counselors and other professionals using slideshow and multi-media presentations. One project, written by Mr. Dooley and funded for 3 years by the State Office of Education, was called BEST (Building Employability Skills in Teenagers). He worked with senior class members in small schools across the region for a week using multi-media, group discussion and competition as the students learned job application and interview skills. BEST was adopted as a program in several other regions in Texas. As the perfect end to his professional career, through the suggestion and efforts on the part of the local Region XIV and Abilene guidance counselors, Mr. Dooley was named "Counselor of the Year" in the State of Texas and received his award at the state convention in Austin. He retired in May of 1982 after 34 years in the teaching profession. After Jo and Larry both retired, they enjoyed a mutual passion of travel. During their travels they visited many countries in Europe, the whole of Mexico, all across Canada, the 50 states of the good old USA and numerous islands in the Caribbean. Jo and Larry also enjoyed spending the winter months for 28 years at Tropic Star RV Park in Pharr, TX. While there, they especially enjoyed square dancing, oil painting and meeting and becoming good friends with so many people. Pallbearers will be Larry White, Rowland Foster, Roger Huber, Bill Lane, Chester Calhoun and Marion Simpson. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Alzheimer's Association, North Central Texas Chapter, 301 S. Pioneer Dr. Suite 105, Abilene, TX 79605, or Hendrick Hospice Care, 1682 Hickory St., Abilene, TX 79601.