W. Royce Malone

Born 9/11/25 to Richard and Alice Page Malone. After his father’s early death, he was raised by his mother and step father, Henry Dunn. Growing up on a farm in Willisville, AR he became an expert gardener and an avid fisherman. In 1943 he joined the Army and proudly served our country for the next 21 years. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his participation in the Battle of the Bulge during WWII and named Knight in the Order of the Legion of Honor by the French Consulate. After the war he trained as a missile engineer and was stationed in Columbus, GA; Germany, Indianapolis, IN; El Paso, TX; Anchorage, AK; Albany, GA and Shreveport, LA. He met and married Mary Pearson and started his family while stationed in Columbus. In 1965 he was employed by the Caddo Parrish School Board as a high school ROTC instructor at Fair Park, Northwoods and Huntington Park High Schools in Shreveport.

He also coached baseball for Summer Grove Baptist Church and for the Shreveport Bossier Youth Services for many years. After moving to Marshall, TX in 1983 he joined the TX State Guard, retiring as a Major in 1997. After the death of his wife in 1996, he became a host for International Exchange Students. In 2003 he relocated to Longview, TX where he continued growing fruit trees and gardening. After suffering a stroke in 2016 he moved to Buckner Westminster Memory Care Facility where he died 9/2/2017, just shy of his 91st birthday.

He was preceded in death by his parents, 3 siblings, his wife, Mary P Malone; son, William “Sam” Royce Malone, Jr; stepson, Cecil ‘Buck’ Lawhorn (Dottie), Thomasville, GA; and grandson, Richard King, White Oak, TX. He is survived by a brother, Don Dunn (Gloria), Harrison, AR; 2 children, Patricia M Gilmore, Englewood, CO; Mary M Arceneaux (Tom), Greenwell Springs, LA; a foster son, Robert “Bob” King (Kelly), White Oak, TX; 12 grandchildren, 24 great grandchildren; 9 great great grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews and friend, Sebastian Schafer, Aachen, Germany.

Visitation will be at 11 am, Saturday, January 13th at Centuries Memorial, 8801 Mansfield Rd. Graveside services by Rev. Gary Boswell will be held at noon with full military honors. To send condolences visit our website www.DignityMemorial.com.

Special thanks to staff at Buckner Westminster, Traditions Hospice and Taps for Vets. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Littlest Angels TOL, PO Box 15083, Baton Rouge, LA 70739 or www.gallantfew.org.