Jessie C. Fruge

Jessie was born on July 16, 1933 in Ville Platte, La. the youngest son to Gustave and Edoria Fruge. He is predeceased by his parents, son Heath, siblings, Nevelda, Edward, Woodrow, Lillian, Lorraine, Esther, and Tedu. He is survived by his son, Duane Fruge, and his wife, Johnnie Fruge. Jessie passed away on July 31, 2013 at the age of 80 with his wife Johnnie by his side. He is now in heaven enjoying a much healthier life with those he loved who passed before him.

Jessie was raised by his dear mother in Ville Platte, La. until he and several close friends decided to join the Navy. He served with the same comrades during most of his stay acquiring very memorable relationships. During his service from May 1952 through May 1956, he served in several positions. One duty he was most proud of was signalman on the USS Helena. Jessie stated he always wished he would have become a navy seal. In May 1960, he received his official honorable discharge receiving the China Service Medal Navy (ext), Republic of Korea War Service Medal and Citation, Korean Service Medal Set, United Nations Service Medal Set, and the National Defense Service Medal.

In 1957, he married Margie and together they had two sons, Duane and Heath. A very painful time for him was losing his youngest son, Heath, at such a young age. Their marriage ended and Margie remarried.

In his early years, Jessie worked in manufacturing with a brother-in-law, Ray and later a very close friend, John. He spent the majority of his employment in the oilfield related fabricating and manufacturing industries. The Brandt Company was his most loved occupation. During those years, he had a flair for supervising crews and became close friends with his coworkers. After leaving the oilfield positions, he owned an automotive repair business until 2001.

In approximately 1973, he met Johnnie and they soon became inseparable. They lived in Pasadena, and together spent every other weekend with his son, Duane, as he grew up. Over the years, when possible he and Duane hunted and fished together and Jessie cherished those times greatly. Jessie and Johnnie married on June 5, 1976 with his good friend, John as his best man. They moved to Friendswood and enjoyed a full loving life together. Most of which always included the outdoors, even trips with the windows down in his classic car with other classic car enthusiasts. Later in life he dearly loved going to casinos near his hometown in Louisiana.

Anyone who knew Jessie knew of his passion for hunting and anything outdoors. Even as a boy, he would hunt small animals nearby, and bring them home to his mom. Over the years, he hunted in almost every section of Texas including Mexico, and treasured every minute. When not hunting with a gun or a bow, he loved those fishing days at a special place in Richmond. To get outdoors more, he also had great luck with growing a beautiful garden full of vegetables.

He retired in 2001 to have his much needed first knee replacement surgery. At that time, he loved the freedom to hunt, fish, and garden as much as he wanted. On December 9, 2006, Jessie fell from a deer stand on a deer lease outside of San Angelo and was rescued by his close friend, Craig. He had difficulties after that and over time broke almost every bone and some twice. His doctors teased with him and referred to him as Evil Knievel.

When Johnnie met Jessie, she fell in love with this handsome, dark skinned, dark haired Cajun who still had a slight Cajun accent. That love continued over 37 years of marriage leaving more memories than this writing can provide. Jessie had an ability to make you laugh with his special humor and phrases. And he especially loved to have a good time with his hunting buddies.