Robert Claire Hamrick

Robert Claire Hamrick, age 82, of Parker, Texas, and formerly of Eunice, New Mexico, passed away on Saturday, September 1, 2012. He was born on September 22, 1929, in Ponca City, Oklahoma, to the late Clarence and Vaughn Hamrick. Robert proudly served our country in the United States Army. He served in Company B 120th Engineers in Japan and Korea during the Korean Conflict. He earned a certificate in Pipeline Drafting from Oklahoma A&M Tech and went on to work as a Pipeline and Tank Inspector/Supervisor for Texas-New Mexico Pipeline. Robert was highly respected by the “gang hands” that he supervised. He later retired following 40 years of faithful service. For several years, Robert coached Little League and Babe Ruth baseball teams. He and his wife, Mary Jo, also worked on the local, state, and International staff of the Cinderella Scholarship Pageant. His daughters were contestants in the pageant and later served as staff members. The contestants called him “Mr. Bob”. He was known as the “Trophy Man”, because he put together the trophies to be awarded to the pageant winners. Robert enjoyed hunting and being outdoors. He was a member of First United Methodist Church of Eunice, New Mexico for a number of years and served in several capacities. He was currently a member of First United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas. He was a personable man. No one was a stranger to him, and he could strike up a conversation with anyone. In addition to his parents, Robert was preceded in death by two sisters, Ruth Jones and Donna Cherryhomes; niece, Claire Higgins; and daughter-in-law, Linda Hamrick. He is survived by his wife, Mary Jo (Vandiver) Hamrick, to whom he was married for 59 wonderful years; son, David Hamrick of Wylie, Texas, daughters, Beth Petty (and husband, Richard) of The Colony, Texas, and Vickie Hamrick of Wylie, Texas; grandchildren, Michael (Shawna) Petty of San Antonio, Texas, Eric (Ashley) Petty of Fort Drum, New York, David (Nikki) Petty of Athens, Texas, and Kiel Petty of The Colony, Texas; great-grandchildren, Bailey Brooks, Amber Petty, Carter Petty, Landen Petty, Adyson Petty and Eli Petty; sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth and Jim Higgins of Carlsbad, New Mexico; and several nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, September 5, 2012 from 6-8pm in Ted Dickey Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 10 a.m. in First United Methodist Church, 3160 E. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, TX 75074. Interment with military honors will follow at 1:00 p.m. in the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123 or First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 946, Eunice, NM 88231. To send condolences or share a fond memory, please visit www.teddickeyfuneral.com.