KENNETH KOONCE

 The following bio was taken from page 275 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

 Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Cemeteries of Texas 

 John Alexander Koonce, Civil War veteran, and Mary Clementine Holleman married August 22, 1853, and to them were born five children.  Daniel Marion, the only son, married Augusta Edna Jones, October 24, 1889.  Both are buried in the Holleman Cemetery in the Oak Flat Community, Rusk County, Texas.  Surviving them were seven sons and four daughters.

 The first house the Koonce’s owned was a log structure with a small bedroom and a kitchen.  One room of the present house was built over the log bedroom.  Kenneth N. Koonce, the third child, was for many years a resident of Henderson.  He was born in the Oak Flat Community where the eleven, blessed by having in their home beloved Grandmother Koonce, were reared.  The house, now owned by Mr. Lynn  Francis, is greatly changed since being renovated.

 Money was scarce, but all except the oldest child attended college.  She, however, obtained a teacher’s certificate by attending a summer session at Timpson, Texas.  Seven of the children completed four or more years of college and all but one of the eleven taught school.

 Kenneth Koonce resumed his teaching career after serving in the armed forces during World War I in which he participated in three major drives.  He remained in Europe one year as a teacher in the Army of Occupation after the signing of the Armistice.

 Kenneth and I, Nell Puyear, met while we were teaching in Cushing, Texas.  Two years later we were married in my home in Jacksonville, Texas.  We continued to teach and to further our education.  He received a Master of Science degree from Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, and I received a Master of Education degree from Stephen  F. Austin State Teachers College.

 After teaching several years in Panola and Shelby Counties, we moved to Henderson, Texas, October 22, 1935.  He changed from administrative work to teaching vocational agriculture in the high school.  He was an instructior in the G. I. School for five years after World War II and served as assistant county superintendent for the remainder of his career.  He died February 2, 1977.

 I first taught in the elementary schools.  Then I was transferred to the junior high school as a teacher and later as librarian, a position I held for twenty years.  I am now librarian of Henderson First United Methodist Church.

 Our experiences as teachers were varied indeed.  How well I remember the depression years.  We held some checks five years before receiving pay, but we never missed a meal, and we were happy.   All in all, we found teaching a rewarding experience.

 Throughout our married life we enjoyed working in the church.  Both of us taught Sunday school classes and sang in the choir for a number of years.  Kenneth was Sunday school superintendent for ten years.  I treasure the presentation copy of The Revised Standard Version of the Bible Kenneth received at a city-wide gathering in the high school auditorium, for being the Sunday School superintendent of the longest tenure.  He was a member of the Laneville Masonic Lodge and the Henderson Lions Club.  For more than fifty years we worked together in educational, civic, and church activities.  What a blessing was ours!

 Submitted by Nell Puyear Koonce