Dates
Dorothy Maurine Sparks, 90, went to Heaven on Saturday, January 25, 2015. She was born on March 26, 1924, to Claude and Grace McCutchen Murtishaw in Coke County, Texas. She was one of eight children who were raised in the Wildcat Community of Coke County. She is survived by her children, W. D. (Dub) Sparks, Jr. and wife, Kay; Bud Sparks and wife, Kay; Tony Sparks and wife, Jessica; and Linda Owens and husband, David, all of San Angelo. She is also survived by eight grandchildren, twenty-seven great-grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren.
Maurine married a Coke County boy, Wilfred Sparks, on March 28, 1941 at the Methodist Church in Bronte. They were married fifty-four years until his death in 1995. After their marriage, they lived on various ranches, farms and dairies in Coke and Mitchell Counties, where he was a ranch hand and she was a homemaker. The family settled into a permanent home in 1951 in Colorado City, when Wilfred went to work for Cosden Refinery.
After the children were raised, Maurine ventured out into the working world. She worked as a sales clerk at Anthony's in Colorado City for thirteen years before retiring. She and Wilfred (Blackie) then moved to San Angelo in 1982, where she lived the remainder of her life. Maurine was a Christian and was a founding member of the Quail Valley Baptist Church, serving as Treasurer for many years.
Maurine was a loving wife and mother during her children's childhood, staying at home to raise her family. Her legacy to be remembered is that she was always there for her family, lovingly tending them when they were sick, reading to them, teaching them about the Bible and Jesus, showing right from wrong, and always lovingly supporting them. She taught them to drive out on the backroads of Mitchell County. She was a moral compass for them, showing by example how one should live. Years come and go quickly, but the love of a mother never dies.
"Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:" Proverbs 31.28.