Lorene Banks

Lorene Banks, 81, died Wednesday, October 11, 2006 in a local hospital. A funeral service, with Dr. Jeff Reid officiating, will be Wednesday, October 18, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. in The Hamil Family Funeral Home Chapel, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road. Burial will be at a later date in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. There will be a visitation at the Funeral Home from 4:00 until 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17, 2006. Lorene was born March 25, 1925 in Norwood, Missouri to Earl and Ida Mae Thompson Young. She attended school and graduated from Enid, Oklahoma High School. On June 2, 1942, she married William D. Banks in Enid. During WWII, she remained in Enid with her family while Doug served his country during the war in Europe. After the war, the couple continued to live in Enid until the completion of Abilene Air Force Base, now Dyess Air Force Base. The couple moved to Abilene in 1956, where Lorene worked for the Army/Air Force Exchange Service, where she served for more than 30 years, until her retirement in 1994. A person who loved people, Lorene served and enjoyed people through the Abilene Shriners, Women of Rotary and the Abilene Garden Club. An avid collector of antiques, her greatest joys were her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Survivors include: her husband, William D. Banks of Abilene; two daughters, Carol Wright of Houston, and Deborah Allen of Dallas; a brother, Laverne Young of Enid, Oklahoma; a sister, Louella Young of Dallas; four grandchildren, Jim Wright, Jud Wright, Angie Ivy and Aimee Allen, and five great grandsons.