Cheryl Darlene Sexton Ligon

Darlene graduated from Rockdale High School in 1964 and was a lifelong Elvis Presley fan.

She began her working career immediately as a telephone switchboard operator for Southwestern Bell. She then went on to work for IBM and then the Texas Department of Public Safety where she met her future mother-in-law who was advertising her son David's availability!

David and Darlene were married in Austin, TX in May of 1968. They later moved to Mt. Pleasant, Texas where Darlene worked for Mt. Pleasant ISD during the 1970's. It was there that she recognized a safety need and pioneered the use of the bright white flashing light atop school buses that we see nationwide today.

She was very active in the Church of the Nazarene where she served as Director of Vacation Bible School and on the church board for several years.

She later moved her family to Caldwell, Texas where she ultimately retired from the Caldwell ISD as a Special Education Executive Administrator Assistant in 2003.

She was widowed by her beloved husband, David Ligon, after 53 years of marriage. She was preceded in death by her parents Edward A. Sexton and Annie Pearl Dreher Sexton Davis.

She is survived by two children, Debra (Kristie) Blankenship of St. Clairsville, Ohio and Dr. Daryl (Bethany) Ligon of Mesa, Arizona. She is also survived by her siblings, Sue Moeller of Taylor, Texas, Edward Sexton of Caldwell, Texas, and Annette Sexton of Bastrop, Texas.

Memorial Visitation will be held at Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home in Temple, TX on October 27, 2026, from 8:00am to 11:00am.

Graveside Service to follow at Bluffton Cemetery in Bluffton, TX at 2:00pm.