Owen Hansell Sherrill

Owen Hansell Sherrill, Jr., 69, was welcomed into the arms of his Lord and Savior on Friday, September 17, 2010. Visitation will be from 6:00 to 7:00 pm on Monday, September 20, 2010 at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road in Abilene. Graveside services will be at 11:00 am on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Abilene. The service will be officiated by Joe Roberts. Hansell, Jr. was born August 3, 1941, to Owen Hansell and Ellen Mauriene (Starnater) Sherrill in Kermit, Texas. He attended Odessa Permian High School. Hansell, Jr. lived and worked for Brown and Root in Houston for many years, then moved to Abilene and worked for Target until retirement. Hansell, Jr. was a very caring son and brother. His nephews and younger cousins considered him their adventurous uncle. "Uncle Bubba" took all of them to the beach, fishing, crabbing, and on many other outings to have fun. He made every trip special and treated them as if they were his own. Hansell Jr. enjoyed bowling, tinkering with almost anything, mastering crossword puzzles, boating on the lake, fishing, bird watching and genealogy research. He loved and cared for his father and mother diligently. He and his mother, Ellen, were avid Dallas Cowboy fans and enjoyed watching "America's Team". Several years after her death, his father, Hansell, Sr., married Ida Gattis. Bubba welcomed her warmly and promptly blended into his new extended family. Ida's family has been very wonderful to Bubba as his illness progressed. Their kindness to him, the loving assistance of his sister Mauriene and her husband Don, and the attention from his nephews and cousins made the last year of Bubba's life very blessed. Bubba requested that we encourage everyone to pay attention to their health. He disregarded a small spot on his skin that eventually developed into the dangerous squamous cell carcinoma that took his life. Bubba was preceded in death by his parents, Owen Hansell Sherrill and Ellen Mauriene Sherrill, and his step mother Ida Gattis Sherrill. Survivors include: sister Mauriene Sherrill Dickens Howey and husband Don of Kerrville, nephews, Jay Dickens and wife Dana, their 2 children Jason and Kennen of San Angelo, Texas, Jon Dickens and wife Mary, their 6 children, Luke, Joshua, David, Charis, Daniel and Paul of Colleyville, Texas, Joel Dickens and wife Hollie, their three children Colt, Abigail and Annaleigh of Cameroon, Africa, cousins Barbara Starnater Groening and son Wayne, cousin Deborah Winchester Martin and husband Tim, their children Lyndon Martin and Misty Stephens and husband, Daniel, children Dakota and soon to be Christopher James step-sister Wanda Darnold and her children Linda, Sondra, and Marvin, step-sister Linda Roberts and husband Joe and their children Wanda and husband Stacey and Joe, Jr. and wife Jeri, and numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sears Methodist Hospice, 3233 South Willis Street, Abilene, Texas 79605. "In Him, Jesus, was life, and the life was the light of men." John 1:4 NKJV