John Rexford Cartwright

on March 11, 1941, in Conroe, Texas, to Rexford Harry Cartwright and Maurine Virginia Beckham

Cartwright, both of whom preceded him in death. John was fondly known to his family and friends

as “Papa John.”

John was raised in the family home which his father built at the intersection of Cartwright

Road (now Loop 336) and the Willis Highway (now U.S. Highway 75). He spent lots of time with

friends Franchot Reneau, Bumps Baylor and others, swimming and fishing in the Rice family’s

pond, which is now the parking lot of Woodcreek Shopping Center (previously North Hills

Shopping Center). John was a lifelong resident of Conroe, and was raised in First Baptist Church

of Conroe, but he later joined First United Methodist Church of Conroe with his wife, Lynn.

John attended Sam Houston Elementary School and Travis Junior High School, playing

baseball and football in grade school and junior high school. He often knocked the ball out of the

park, joking that he was so slow that if he didn’t hit the ball out of the park, he would be thrown out

at first base every time. John was also involved in Boy Scouts in the 1940s and 1950s at the newly

formed Camp Strake. John recounted scouting trips at Camp Strake, as wells as scouting (and a few

unauthorized) trips on the Grogan-Cochran Lumber Company lands, now land included as part of

The Woodlands, which John frequently described as nothing more than a swamp full of palmetto

and alligators. Following in the footsteps of his father and mother, who were graduates of Conroe

High School in 1922 and 1924, respectively, John graduated from Conroe High School in 1959.

After graduation from Conroe High School in 1959, John attended Baylor University for one

year. He then transferred to Sam Houston State University in the fall of 1960. At Sam Houston

State University, John shared an apartment with fellow Conroe High School classmates, Kenneth

“Joe” Guinn and Louis Anderson. In the fall of 1960, another Conroe High School classmate,

JoAnn Steakley, arranged a blind date for her roommate, Lynn Chatfield, to meet John. John and

Lynn fell in love, and eloped in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on January 6, 1961. Lynn was the love

of his life, and they remained married for fifty-three (53) years, until Lynn’s death on October 6,

2014. John and Lynn had two (2) sons, John Rexford Cartwright, Jr. and Keith Charles Cartwright.

Lynn, Rex and Keith, of course, were the main focus of John’s life, along with his parents, Rex and

Maurine Cartwright, who John and Lynn lovingly cared for in their elder years.

John began his career in the family business, Conroe Shoe Shop, located in downtown

Conroe next to Carter’s Drug Store. John worked there for many years, and later owned several

businesses, including Cartwright’s Western Wear and Wagon Wheel Package Store, which were

both located on the family property at the intersection of Cartwright Road and Highway 75 North.

About 1980, John sold Wagon Wheel Package Store to Cobweb Liquors, a group of investors from

Houston. John then purchased John Arnold’s Exxon, located at the intersection of South Main

Street and Avenue G, which John renamed Cartwright’s Exxon. Later, John went back to work with

his father, Rex H. Cartwright, in the family business, Conroe Shoe Shop. Sons, Rex and Keith, and

a host of their friends worked at the Conroe Shoe Shop and Cartwright’s Exxon during the 1970s

and 1980s (and well beyond). John’s son, Rex, chose to carry on the family business and make the

Conroe Shoe Shop his own, while son, Keith, chose to pursue a career as an attorney, practicing in

the field of oil, gas and mineral law in Houston for many years.

After the death of John’s father in 1985, John and his son, Rex, moved the Conroe Shoe

Shop to its current location, on the family property, and expanded the “shoe shop” to include

Cartwright’s Western Wear. In 1988, the shoe shop and western wear store burned to the ground.

John and Rex dusted themselves off after the fire, moved the business to temporary quarters down

the street, and rebuilt the shoe shop and western wear store in its present location, reopening in early

1990. John continued to work at the shoe shop for many years after rebuilding, but he was semiretired

in recent years, mostly just visiting with longtime customers and friends, talking about old

times and the aches and pains of old age, while managing to brag a little bit about his children and

grandchildren. John’s wife, Lynn Cartwright, died on October 6, 2014, and John was truly lost

without her, a kind, loving, caring friend and partner to him for over fifty-three (53) years.

John is preceded in death by his parents, Rexford Harry Cartwright and Maurine Virginia

Beckham Cartwright, his loving wife of fifty-three (53) years, Lynn Chatfield Cartwright, and his

sister, Virginia Ann Cartwright Lavender. John is survived by his sons, J. Rex Cartwright, Jr. and

wife, Shelly Cartwright, and Keith C. Cartwright, his grandchildren, Ethan Cartwright, Ashton

Cartwright and Cullen Cartwright, brother-in-law, Jeff Blankenship, and lifelong friends, Franchot

Reneau and Bumps Baylor, as well as numerous other friends and relatives.

Following cremation, a graveside memorial service officiated by Pastor Carol Hoke will be held on October 12, 2015, at

11:00 a.m., at Oakwood Cemetery, located at the intersection of Highway 105 East and Tenth Street,

in Conroe, with Cashner Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. After the graveside service, the

family will receive visitors and serve lunch at John’s home at 1101 Irish Drive, Conroe, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to your favorite local pet charity, as John,

like Lynn, loved all animals, large and small. The family wishes to express its sincere thanks to our

dear friends the Tupas and Anna and Greg Reising for their long friendship and many kindesses

shown to John and Lynn over the years.