Sylvia Ann McKown, 71, of Hemphill and a former resident of Orange, passed away Thursday, April 28, 2011, at Lufkin Memorial Hospital.
Funeral Services will be 2:00 p.m. Monday, May 2, 2011, at Claybar Funeral Home Chapel in Orange. Officiating will be Reverend Jeff Bell, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Port Acres. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens near Bridge City.
Visitation will be from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home in Orange.
Born in Dallas on December 6, 1939, Sylvia was the daughter of John and Mary Ellen McLaughlin Horton. Sylvia spent most of her college career at Texas Women?s University but received her degree from Lamar University. She was a teacher for 35 years at West Orange ? Cove ISD, a cheerleader sponsor and chairman of the English department. She loved her students; however her greatest joy in life was her family, especially her two grandchildren.
Preceded in death by her parents, Sylvia is survived by her husband, Michael F. McKown of Hemphill; daughter and son-in-law, Cynthia and Kato Hawthorne of Houston; son, Scott Moore of Kansas City, Missouri; grandchildren, Michael and Evan Hawthorne; sister, Elizabeth Curtis of Frost; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Pat and Hercel Stracener of Orange; and nieces, Angie Lathrop and Michele Ray.
Serving as Pallbearers will be Kato Hawthorne, Angelo Lauracela and Eric Lathrop.
For those who wish, memorials may be directed to the West Orange Stark Cove CISD School Library, P.O. Box 1107, Orange, Texas 77630.