Jerry Haire

Jerry Don Haire of Abilene, TX went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Monday, December 17, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. in Houston, TX. His funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, December 21 at the First Baptist Church in Abilene with burial following in Elmwood Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 PM on Thursday at Elmwood Funeral Home, 5750 HWY 277 South.

Jerry was born to Roy Coleman Haire and Lois Lee Haire in Lubbock, TX on October 2, 1947. He graduated from ODonnell High School in 1966. He received an Associate in Arts Degree from South Plains College in 1969 and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Parks and Recreation with emphasis in Horticulture from Texas Tech University in December of 1971. Jerry married Ronda Jean Johnson from Stamford, Texas on December 23, 1972. Upon his graduation from Tech he was employed as the Assistant Grounds Keeper at OSU in Stillwater, OK. He was the Nursery Manager at Los Patios Garden Center in Midland, TX from 1973 until February of 1975. He and Ronda moved to Waco, TX where they resided from 1975 to 1994. While in Waco he held the positions of Assistant Parks Director for the City of Waco; Director of the Fort Fisher Texas Ranger Hall of Fame Complex; and owner and operator of Evergreen Landscape and The Tree Doctor. In 1994, he and Ronda moved to Snyder, TX where he was employed by Western Texas College as a Horticulture instructor in the Price Daniel Prison Unit. In 2004, they moved to Abilene, but he continued to teach horticulture in the prison at Snyder. He was a member of the Texas Nurserymen and Landscape Association. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Abilene. He enjoyed working in his yard, fishing, and spending time with his family and friends. He was a strong, but gentle man of few words and loved by all who knew him. He was a loyal friend and a loving husband and father. He will be missed by the many people whose lives he has touched through the years. His life was a testimony to his faith in Jesus Christ, especially in the last years of his life.

He was preceded in death by his father in 1965 and his mother in 2000.

He is survived by his wife, Ronda, of Abilene; one son, Austin Grant and wife, Audra, from Dallas; one daughter, Molly Catherine, from Dallas; brother, Charles Haire and wife Loretta, from Lubbock: brother, Bobby Haire, from Brownwood; father-in-law, A. C. Johnson of Abilene; brother-in-law, Russell Johnson and wife, Karen, of Midland; special friends, Lance and LeAnn Howerton, of Mineral Wells; and a host of nephews and neices.

Visitation

Elmwood Funeral Home
5750 HWY 277 South
Abilene, TX  79606
Thursday, December 20, 2007
6 to 8 PM

Service

Funeral Service

First Baptist Church
1333 N. 3rd
Abilene, TX  79601
Friday, December 21, 2007
2:00 PM

Cemetery

Elmwood Memorial Park
5750 HWY 277 South
Abilene, TX  79606

Memorial Contributions

First Baptist Church
1333 N. 3rd
Abilene, TX  79601

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center For Esophogeal Cancer Research
PO Box 19024
Seattle, WA  98109