Samuel Byron Cato

Samuel Byron Cato was born in Wattensaw, Arkansas, on August 29, 1933. Byron was the son of Sam Wesley Cato and Alta Mae Beard of Wattensaw. His heritage can be traced back to Mississippi, Tennessee and North Carolina. He was an only child. He lived in the country where his dad owned a country store with a cotton gin in the back. His dad was also the postmaster. Byron would help in the store only occasionally when his dad had to do an errand and Mr. Thompson was gone. He would get the mail and help the customers. He helped with the cotton gin also. Mae was a homemaker famous for her pound cake and her love of Friday night wrestling matches on tv.

Byron did help the neighbors, Fred and Maysel Wilson, with his cows when he was about 12-16 years old. He would go before school to help milk the cows and then again in the evening. They used milking machines, so you only had to do what was called stripping the lines to get all the milk out. Sometimes you would have to milk by hand. Maysel would make him breakfast and “she was a good cook”. She would fix ham, eggs, hot biscuits, and coffee. She also made him chess pies which were his favorite.

One day when he was out in the building where they held their lodge meetings, he stumbled upon something with a cover on it. His curiosity got the best of him and he had to look. It was a school desk that he was getting for Christmas. He covered it back up, kept his mouth quiet and acted surprised when he found it under the Christmas tree.

He started his flying lessons when he was about 17. His first flight was November 5, 1950, from Lonoke to Little Rock. He learned to fly from Buzzy Thomason in a Taylor Craft. Buzzy was a “big rice farmer out on the highway” and also a flight instructor. He helped Byron until he could take his solo flights. He broke the news of the flying to his Mother after he had taken a few lessons. She said, “you’re going to go out here and kill yourself”. “He didn’t” but he did buzz her one time when she was hanging out the wash. Work and family took precedent, so he didn’t get his actual license until June 18, 1974.

Byron met his future wife on a blind date. Patsy Lilly was the cousin of Mona Sue Cochran. She invited a group of people over to go duck hunting. They were all there and he met Sue and they began to date. After high school graduation from Lonoke High School, Byron enrolled in the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and studied and received a certificate for Aircraft Engine Mechanics. He was there for a year and a half. Byron would come home to visit while he was in school in Tulsa. He joined the Air Force in 1953 and went through basic training. Byron and Sue married Wednesday, January 13, 1954 at First Baptist Church, Carlisle. It was a small private wedding. He found out he was going to Greenland and called Sue to ask do you want to get married now or when I return. She said now. He and 2 buddies went to the recruiting office to receive their orders. A buddy was to go to Greenland and Byron to Korea where the Korean War was taking place. The buddy’s wife was expecting a baby and he didn’t want to leave yet so Byron took his place in Greenland. Byron went to Greenland and served there for 13 months. It wasn’t all that cold and beautiful country. While working in air sea rescue, the helicopter he was flying in crashed but he was unharmed. He flew in the SA16 Albatross and the Sikorsky H19 helicopter. He did his tour in Greenland and Sue stayed with her parents until he returned. She worked in Little Rock at Court House dealing with record keeping.

Upon returning from Greenland, he and Sue moved to Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he served the rest of his military career at Holloman Air Force Base as a helicopter crew chief working at the White Sands Missile Range. They lived in an apartment until a place opened on the base. In that apartment the water heater was outside, there were no closets, and the bed was propped up with a bucket. The stove didn’t work well, and her first cake was a flop. Cakes and altitude don’t mix. Byron was the one who taught Sue to cook! Oh the life of newlyweds. They were members of First Baptist Church, Alamogordo. Byron was the treasurer at the church while they were there. They met 3 couples that took the newlyweds in and befriended them. They were lifelong friends.

After being honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1957, he took a job with McDonald Douglas in St Louis, Missouri. He soon thereafter changed jobs and began his career with Mississippi River Transmission Corporation (MRTC). He worked there 32 years. In the beginning, they would drop him at one end of the pipeline, and he would walk the pipeline right-a-way inspecting it. He walked 5-6 hours every day. He would walk by himself and occasionally come across a snake or two. He met several farmers when he had to cross their land. Of course, he would strike up a conversation because he never met a stranger. They treated him “really nice”. He walked the pipeline in Missouri and Illinois. A truck would pick him up at the end of the line and take him back to his car.

He earned a promotion and began working in instrumentation. He still had to walk the line occasionally but worked in the warehouse most days. Another promotion came and he was the supervisor of instrumentation. Being promoted again he became a district superintendent of the Northern District at headquarters in Ladue, Missouri. Eventually they transferred him to Ruston, Louisiana, where he was the Southern District Superintendent. He retired from there in 1990.

When he joined MRTC, Byron and Sue lived in St. Louis. They were always active in whatever church they were members. In St. Louis they were members of Fee Fee Baptist Church. After about 3 years, they moved across the river to Illinois to a small but growing bedroom community called Cahokia. They lived in a small 3-bedroom house on St. Barbara. They became members of Maplewood Park Baptist Church where they were active in the adult and Chapel Choir. Byron was a deacon and served in various areas in the church. They moved to a bigger home after Mark and Dale were married where they had some space to move. The transfer to Ruston, Louisiana, came and they lived there through retirement. They became members of Cook Baptist Church. They were active in the choir program and Sunday School leadership. He was a deacon and helped with the finance committee. After retirement, Byron was able to spend even more time volunteering at church. He and Sue would make hospital visits and nursing home visits. They made lifelong friends there. As Byron’s health declined, they made one last move to Bedford, Texas, to Parkwood Retirement Community to be closer to their son, Dale, and his family.

His love for aviation continued. He finally got his pilot’s license and bought a plane with 3 other men. The first plane was a Beechcraft Musketeer A23. They traded that for a Beechcraft A35 Bonanza, N686B. He logged many miles going back and forth to Carlisle, Arkansas, to see Sue’s family. Mon was a great fish fryer. Byron would pack up a sack of fish to snack on on the flight home.

He also loved golf. In St. Louis, he would take his boys to the driving range. When he moved to Ruston, he began to play rounds of golf. He had a group of men who would meet weekly on Saturday mornings for their round of golf or drinking coffee at McDonalds

Watching sports brought him great entertainment. He would attend some St. Louis Cardinals baseball games when his father-in-law, Mon Cochran, would come to visit in the summer. He would talk sports with his sons and grandsons. He and Sue loved to play games. They played games every single day. Uno, dominoes, chicken foot, scrabble to name a few.

They also did a lot of traveling. Of course, he was in Greenland in the Air Force. They visited the area around Alamogordo when they lived there. They took many trips to an Indian Reservation in South Dakota to do mission work. There were 2 trips gifted to them to Hawaii. After retirement, they would travel to senior adult conferences across the south. Living in Louisiana, they visited many towns across the state. When Mark was in the Air Force stationed in Germany, they visited twice and toured Germany, England, and The Netherlands where they saw Anne Franks and Corrie ten Boon’s homes. They had many sweet memories from their travels.

Byron Mark Cato was their first-born son born March 18, 1956, at Holloman Air Force Base, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. He attended schools in Cahokia, Illinois, and graduated from Cahokia High School in 1974. He was commissioned in the United States Air Force upon graduation from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 1979. He started his career as an Air Traffic Control Officer, with his next assignment fulfilling his dream to be an AF pilot. He combined the two specialties to serve as a Flight Inspection Pilot. His favorite assignment was at Rhein-Mein AB, Germany, where he traveled most of Europe and parts of the Middle East. He was gone more than he was home, invariably returning home after his wife, Tami’s, days off were over. He frequently was home long enough to swap baggage and he had many each trip. Who knows what he had in those bags, but he needed them all, or so he said. He was stationed in San Antonio, Texas, and then in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mark retired from there.

After retiring from the Air Force, Mark headed to Washington D.C. He was an Airport and Air Services consultant to the Athens, Greece Airport Authority during the construction of their new international airport. Mark then worked at the Air Line Pilots Association in Herndon, Virginia, until his disability with cancer. He loved aviation, air safety, and staying in contact with his coworkers.

Mark’s wife was Tami Wells-Cato. They met in college in ROTC. She was a nurse in the US Air Force. They had 2 children, Marissa and Travis. They moved to West Virginia for work in the DC area and bought a small farm. Travis was interested in FFA and one of his projects was caring for a goat. Travis lost interest but Mark and Tami did not. They continued the goat farming that Tami continues to this day. It was hard work getting up for those early morning feedings and all the other chores that come along with animals and a farm. They started a craft show business together, Gingerbread Cottage Country Candles. Tami made the products and Mark did the marketing. They had a store front for a time and then sold their products at area craft shows. His most recent involvement was with Veterans for Beekeeping, and the Veterans Apiary at Geezer Ridge Farm, West Virginia, bears his name. Mark was a life-long learner. His interests outside of aviation included reading and music.

Major Byron Mark Cato, (USAF, O-4, Ret.) died March 12, 2016, just days shy of his 60th birthday. Mark was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on August 17, 2016, with a full military burial honor.

Marissa Renee Cato was born April 24, 1980. She graduated from the University of Virginia with her master’s degree in architecture. She married TJ Wright and they have a daughter, Elise Jeannette, born June 21, 2017. Marissa works in Human Resources and TJ works with the US Patent Office. Living in Florida, they enjoy outdoor life taking walks along the beach and taking their boat out on the water.

Travis Andrew Cato, Sr. was born April 14, 1986. He married Kelsey Burdette on February 29, 2012, and they have 3 children. Travis Andrew, Jr born May 8, 2007, Bryson Thomas was born March 16, 2011, and Stella Jade was born June 25, 2017. Travis drives a big rig tow truck hauling tractor trailers and busses back to the yard. He has an entrepreneurial spirit having several productive side businesses. Kelsey is a stay at home Mom. Travis and Travis Jr enjoy spending time at the farm helping with the bigger chores.

Dale Robert Cato was their second son. He was born May 26, 1957, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He grew up in Cahokia, Illinois, graduating from Cahokia High School in 1975. He graduated from Parks College of St. Louis University in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautics and was a Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic. While attending university, he received his private pilots license from Belleville Area College. He received his love for aviation from his dad. He couldn’t wait for his 18th birthday when he was finally old enough to apply for a job at the local airport, Bi-State Parks Airport. He began as a lineman where he fueled the aircraft. That job also included plowing snow off the runways. He received a promotion to work in the office. Dale earned his commercial license, instrument rating, and private helicopter rating. He was interested in electronics and sound engineering and during high school and college, he was the “sound man” at Maplewood Park Baptist Church for the youth choir. He made several trips on tours, many to Washington, D.C., where he participated in laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknow Soldier. He met his future wife, Cindy Mirgaux, at church and they married May 5, 1979. Upon graduation, Dale began his career at General Electric in St. Louis, Missouri, as a Field Service Engineer in power generation. During that time their first child, Eric Robert, was born. He worked at GE 5 years and then had the desire to return to the aviation industry. He applied and received a job working for Bell Helicopter Textron. That took their family of 3 to the DFW area in Texas. They lived in an apartment until their home in Illinois sold and then moved into a home in Euless, Texas. They were blessed with a daughter, Meagan Nicole. During this time, Dale completed his MBA at Dallas Baptist University in 1988. They moved to Grapevine, Texas, where they live to present. Dale has been very successful at Bell. He began his career as a Reliability Maintainability Engineer and then became a Project Engineer on military and commercial helicopters. He was promoted to Program Manager for the 407 helicopter. He was Director of Programs and Foreign Military Sales and then to Senior Manager of Global Military Sales and Strategy. His work has taken him all across the globe traveling more than 5,000,000 air miles these last 37 years!

His hobbies include aviation, of course, and wood working. He has completed many projects in our homes and for our children. He loves to watch and attend sporting events.

Eric Robert Cato was born February 1, 1983, and graduated from Colleyville Heritage High School in 2001. He graduated from Texas Christian University in 2006 with a BA in Economics. He started and runs a golf business. He married Heather Ann Smith December 30, 2006. She is in the education field working toward her PhD in reading. They have 2 children Hudson Robert born August 21, 2014, and Harper Ruth born May 19, 2017.

Meagan Nicole Cato was born June 21, 1985 and graduated from Colleyville Heritage High School in 2003. She graduated from Texas Tech University in 2007 with a BA in Hotel, Restaurant, and Hospitality Management. She is employed by Eurest Company where she is the food service and catering manager for a corporate headquarters. She met her future husband, Charles Heath Alls at Tech. She and Heath married April 18, 2009. Heath earned 2 master’s degrees and works in the blood banking industry. They have a son, Kasen Charles born February 1, 2015. They are expecting another baby, Molly Kate, in July 2020.

Charles David Cato was the third son. He was born November 10, 1969, in Centreville, Illinois. He was a surprise gift coming 13 years after Dale was born. He grew up in Cahokia, Illinois, until high school. He was a member of the Boy Scouts of America earning the level of Eagle Scout. Byron was transferred to Ruston, Louisiana, and David graduated from Ruston High School 1987. He enjoyed manual labor rather than pursing higher education. He joined the Louisiana National Guard. His unit was called up in 1990 during Desert Storm to Iraq where he drove and maintained heavy equipment. Before leaving for his tour of duty and unsure when the actual deployment would happen, he eloped with his future wife, Hilda Hernandez, who he had met in high school. Upon returning he stayed active in the Guard and worked at the Ball Glass Plant. They had three children, RayeLee Jade born May 27, 1992, Wesley Monarch born September 13, 1994, and Gradey Charles born June 3, 1997. RayeLee has a daughter, GinnyLee Shivery Yates, born July 8, 2015. Employment opportunities took him to Iowa and shortly after he joined the US Army. The family moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and then was stationed in Germany. The family lived in Germany but David was deployed back to Iraq during the second Gulf War, the Iraq War. Military life can be difficult on marriages and families and David and Hilda divorced. The family returned stateside and David finished his tour. Upon returning to the states, he received a medical discharge. He resides in Northern Illinois enjoying gardening and working on vehicles.

Byron was a kind and loving man. He loved his family fiercely and was very proud of each of them. He loved to laugh and always had a joke or two to tell. He loved music, especially Southern Gospel, and could play the piano by ear. At the end of his days, Alzheimer’s robbed him of his final years. But even in the midst of that difficulty, he remained concerned for his family and enjoyed the visits he had with them. Sue would faithfully visit him in the memory care facility where he lived and he remembered her to the end. They ended each visit singing Amazing Grace together. They were married 65 years. Dale was a faithful son to care for each need his dad and mom had. Byron received great comfort from Dale’s visits and care

.

Byron died Thursday, November 19, 2019. His funeral was Tuesday, November 22, officiated by Bro. Gil Arthur and music was provided by Keith Barker. Interment was at DFW National Cemetery in Dallas, Texas on November 26, 2019.

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Byron Cato, of Bedford, Texas, passed away on November 19, 2019, in Bedford, Texas. He will always be remembered as a loving husband, dad, grandpa and friend to all who knew and loved him. He was born on August 29, 1933, in Wattensaw, Arkansas, to Sam and Mae Cato. He grew up in the country where his family owned the country store and cotton gin. He went to Spartan School of Aeronautics, in Tulsa, and studied Aircraft Engine Mechanics. He joined the Air Force and was stationed in Greenland for 18 months and worked in air sea rescue. He then served at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico as a helicopter crew chief. He moved to St. Louis and worked at McDonald Douglas before joining Mississippi River Transmission Corporation where he worked for 32 years in natural gas pipeline industry. Byron enjoyed traveling with his wife across the United States and Europe. He was an aviation buff enjoying flying his Bonanza and playing golf was a favorite pastime. He was very active in church activities especially serving as a deacon, working with church finances, and doing hospital and nursing home visits. Byron is survived by his wife, Sue Cato, of Bedford Texas; sons Dale Cato and his wife Cindy of Grapevine, Texas; and Charles David Cato of Galesburg, Illinois; and daughter-in-law Tami Wells-Cato, of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Grandchildren Marissa Cato (TJ Wright), Eric Cato (Heather), Meagan Alls (Heath), Travis Cato (Kelsey), RayeLee Yates, Wesley Cato, and Gradey Cato. Great grandchildren Travis Cato Jr., Bryson Cato, GinnyLee Yates, Hudson Cato, Kasen Alls, Harper Cato, Elise Wright and Stella Cato. He was preceded in death by his parents Sam and Mae Cato, and son Byron Mark Cato. Visitation will be held from 10:00-11:00 a.m. followed by a Celebration of Life at 11:00 a.m. on November 22 at Cross City Church, Euless, Texas. Interment will follow on Tuesday, November 26, at DFW National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, PO Box 96011, Washington, DC, 20090-6011, or 800-272-3900, and designated to the North Central Texas in Byron’s name. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.bluebonnethills.com .