Dora Lee Pharis

Dora Lee (Gentry) Pharis, age 105, passed away peacefully at her home on February 16, 2010, surrounded by her family and friends. Funeral services will take place at the Pleasant Ridge United Methodist Church near Yellville, Arkansas at 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, February 20, 2010, with interment in the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery. The family will receive visitors from 6-8:00 P.M. on Wednesday at Scott’s Funeral Home in Gatesville, Texas She was born in the Rush mining district of rural Marion County, Arkansas, on November 5, 1904, the eldest daughter of George W. Gentry and Eugenia Hand Gentry. At the time of her birth, Theodore Roosevelt was president, and the United States only had 45 states. At a very early age, she was inspired by one of her aunts to teach school. After taking a teacher’s examination and receiving her license to teach in 1919, she began teaching at a one-room rural school in northern Arkansas at the age of sixteen. She was married on December 18, 1921 to Floyd Edward Maxey and they became the parents of one child, Dolores Jean Maxey, in 1929. After spending the first twenty years of her life in Arkansas, Dora lived in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, before finally settling in Hobbs, New Mexico, in 1930. She was married for a second time to Jack L. Pharis on April 20, 1946 in Carlsbad, New Mexico. They lived in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico until their retirement from the oil business in 1974. Following the death of her husband in 1975, Dora continued to live in Hobbs until 1991 when she moved to Gatesville to be near her daughter and her grandson. She was a former member of the Jefferson Street Church of Christ in Hobbs, New Mexico, and joined the Eastern Star organization, Chapter 845, in Kermit, Texas, in 1953. Realizing the importance of education, she was a generous contributor to the Saint Labre Indian School in Ashland, Montana. Dora was a life-long Democrat and a great supporter of the Democratic Party. She voted until she reached 100 years of age. She also had an intense interest in travel and history and visited many historic locations throughout the United States and Great Britain – including her ancestral home in Perth, Scotland. Dora also loved to garden and was noted among her family as an excellent cook. In September of 2009, she was recognized and honored as being the oldest living school teacher from Marion County, Arkansas. Her photograph was exhibited at the Rush Reunion and her teaching history was displayed. Recently, her photograph also appeared on a PBS television special regarding the history of the Buffalo River National Park in Northern Arkansas, which was produced by the University of Arkansas. In November of 2009, she received a special honor from state representative Sid Miller’s office on the occasion of her 105th birthday. Dora was a very loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and will truly be missed by all who knew her. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Dolores and Don Scott, and by her grandson and his wife, David and Laura Scott, and by her great-grandson, Alexander Scott, all of Gatesville. She was preceded in death by her husband, one sister, and one brother. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews. The family wishes to express their sincere thanks to Dr. Timothy Maynard, Della Altum, Kevin George and his staff, and especially to Dr. Edward Contraris of Waco. She is also survived by her very special friends, Dorothy Maxwell, Linda Hanna, Sandra Lane, Lynda Baker, and Jennifer Frier. Memorials may be made to the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery Association, c/o Betty James, 200 Brushwood Lane, Yellville, Arkansas, 72687; or to the St. Labre Indian School, P.O. Box 216, Ashland, Montana, 59003.