CRIM PROPES

The following bio was taken from page 351 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

 Transcribed by Claudia Schuster

 Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Cemeteries of TX

    I was born in Rusk County approximately one mile from where I now live.  I am Ann, the last daughter of Ransome Bartlett and Annie Lue Allen Roquemore. I have two sisters, Doris Floyd and Mollie Joe Gentry, and one brother, William.  I attended twelve years of school at Laneville.  One of my teachers, Mrs. Rayford Belk, later taught two of my daughters, Donna and Sherri Propes, in the Henderson Schools.  My best friend in school was Louise Buckner.  A classmate, Joe Johnson, is now a doctor.

 Crim Propes and I met through a cousin.  He was born January 29, 1932, in Rusk County in the Roquemore Community, which was named for my great uncle, the Rev. James Roquemore.  Crim is the son of Golda Steward and Forrest Chilton Propes.  He has two brothers, Clyde and Raymond, and one sister, Geneva Armstrong.  When I first met Crim’s parents, I was amazed to learn that Golda Propes and Ruth Roquemore started school together and were good friends.

 Crim and I were married on February 14, 1955.  Our first daughter, Donna Carol, was born December 12, 1955.  Our other children are: Sheri Lue, born October 12, 1957; Turner, Jr., October 18, 1959; David Clyde, October 23, 1961 and our twins, Daniel Chilton and Dewayne Curtis, April 20, 1965, six minutes apart.  All our children were born in Shreveport, Louisiana.  We moved back to Rusk County in July of 1965 when our twins were two months old.

 In August, 1970 my father-in-law Forrest Chilton (Chilt) Propes was buried on the same day our daughter Sheri cut her wrist on a glass door.  The cut severed an artery and Sheri was in surgery for about three hours in a Tyler hospital.  Sheri was at Big Mama’s house, and Big Mama’s quick thinking to tie a handkerchief on her arm saved her life.  She was in the hospital for two weeks and had to have physical therapy in Longview for five months every day.  On one of these trips to Longview I had a wreck and totaled our car.

 On September 22, 1973, less than a year after my mother, Annie Lue Roquemore, died, our seventh child, Cilicia Ann was born.  Her name is from the Bible, a city in Acts.  I liked the way Brother Louis Asher said it.

 On June 6, 1975, Sheri graduated from Henderson High School and the next day June 7, 1975, she was married to James Heaton.  On March 27, 1976, Sheri had a baby girl, Sabrina Renee Heaton.

 On July 24, 1976, our Donna, who lives in Jacksonville, had a baby girl, Kila Shipley.  The baby lived only one day.  On July 28, 1976 our eighth child, Dana Michele, was born.

 On July 7, 1980 our son Dewayne was sweeping in front of the glass doors at the Strand Theatre.  A car driven by a black woman jumped the curb and pushed him through the glass doors.  Thanks to his brother Daniel and Harvey Cox, he didn’t bleed to death.  He was in the hospital one week.

Turner and his wife, the former Terri Earle, live in Henderson.

 Submitted by Annie Ruth Propes