Dewena Maddux Powell

DEWENA MADDUX POWELL passed from her life on this earth on March 23, 2010. She was born in Oklahoma City, OK on April 7, 1932, to Dewey D. and Etta Tiffee Maddux. Her family later moved to LaFlore and Stillwater, OK, then to Fort Smith, AR where Dewena co-starred in the annual ninth grade play with Bill Powell, who would later become her high school sweetheart, then her husband and best friend for 58 years. She graduated from high school in Fort Smith, attended Monticello College near Alton, IL for one year, and then transferred to SMU in Dallas where she was a member of Chi Omega. She and Bill were married in December of 1951, and the following year she completed her degree at SMU while Bill completed his Air Force tour of duty in Fort Worth. They spent two years in Fayetteville, AR where Dewena was an elementary school teacher to 55 first grade baby boomers, followed by three years in Dallas while Bill attended SMU Law School, and one year in Washington, DC. In 1958 they settled permanently in Dallas. While rearing four children, Dewena was a voracious reader, with special interest in historical novels and English and American history. She was an active member of the Lide Spraggins and the Bard and Ballad Book Clubs. She was also a member of the Profitears Investment Club, and served the Pierian Club as its President in the year 2000. A life-long Methodist, Dewena was a member of Lovers Lane United Methodist Church. She and her family loved to travel. In later years she and Bill enjoyed many visits to their vacation home in Jackson Hole, WY, and then began a series of cruises with friends and family to Europe (including a Mediterranean cruise with their entire immediate family in 2008), the Panama Canal, Eastern Canada and Alaska. Dewena was predeceased by her parents and by her daughter, Lynn Ellen Powell, and is survived by her husband, William D. Powell, her son, Stephen D. Powell and wife Sally of Dallas, her daughter Dianne Dahlstrom and husband Fred of Albuquerque, NM, her son William Scott Powell and wife Melinda of Dallas, her granddaughters Sara Powell of Dallas, Lauren Powell of New York City, and Keller Powell of Dallas and Austin, her brother William G. Maddux and wife Wanda of Stillwater, OK, her sister-in-law Marilyn Powell Hulquist and husband Dick of Los Angeles, and numerous nieces and nephews. The cornerstones of Dewena’s life were her Christian faith, her family and her friends. Her faith has been rewarded by eternal life. Her family and friends have been enriched by her love and her presence among them. A memorial service and reception in Dewena’s honor will be held Saturday, March 27 at 2:00 p.m. at Sparkman Hillcrest Northwest Hwy. Chapel, Rev. Walt Lunde, officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be sent to Operation Kindness at www.operationkindness.org or to the American Heart Association, www.americanheart.org or to a charity of your choice. To leave a personal condolence, please visit www.sparkman-hillcrest.com.