Person:Oran Dalton (1)

as a minister by the Laodicea Church in Fort Worth, Texas in July, 1955. He pastored the church at Temple, Texas and served on "open" Sundays other churches including Bonham and Hamilton. He joined Laodicea Church in Fort Worth by letter on February 21, 1943.

Memories recounted by his daughter, Joyce Marie Dalton on 8 Oct 2005. My dad survived typhoid at a young age, about 9 or 10, I believe, which may have adversely affected his future health. He very much enjoyed all sports, played baseball as a young man on neighborhood teams, enjoyed attending Cat's games in the 40s & 50s, and enjoyed Golden Gloves events. Unable to serve in the military in WW II, because he already had severe hypertension, he worked at the "Bomber Plant," which later was General Dynamics. When the US entered the war, we lived in Dublin where he owned an automobile service shop. All his inventory was confiscated for use in the war, thus we came to Ft. Worth, and he served as noted above, most weeks working 14-18 hours a day, 7 days a week. Royce & I seldom saw him. About 15 years later he finished paying off the debts left when he lost the business in Dublin, debts he never considered himself relieved of. He suffered his first massive stroke, I believe, in 1951, resulting in aphasia and paralysis, recovering completely over a period of 12-18 months. During that time, in addition to physical therapy provided at health care facilities, he participated in intensive therapy provided by his friend, Roy T. Denman, realtor, who picked him up at home and took him to building sites where they walked and talked, one site after another. He suffered numerous strokes in the ensuing years, some small, some serious. But he continued to work as a tooling engineer at General Dynamics for more than 20 years. (He did not have an engineering degree, but compiled hundreds of hours of engineering courses after hours at GD, and achieved the title, if not the diploma.) He was credited with at least one patent for an aircraft tool during his career. He was always, even at the time of his premature death at the age of 57, a skilled mentor of young people - encouraging, teaching, tutoring, writing letters of advice or answering questions. His strong suit was compassion and empathy. He could place himself in the shoes of another with complete objectivity, and his words to others were always positive, even in criticism. Prior to his ordination to the ministry, he served many years as a deacon in the Primitive Baptist Church, always enjoying an especially remarkable fellowship with his father, Gilbert , and his uncle, Len.

1.   Family Records: Barbara Jones descendant of William Lee Smith.

   Famly group sheet prepared by Barbara Jones

2. ↑ Patent