Dates
Eula Marie Tankersley passed away to be with her savior Jesus Christ on March 23rd, 2024. She was born in Spearman Texas on January 4, 1930, the second child born to Lewis and Eula Meers. Eula Marie grew up on her parent's family farm near Spearman, where she attended school until the age of 13 when her family moved their farm to Gray county near Pampa Texas. There she attended and graduated from Pampa high school in 1947. Eula Marie studied the piano which led her to pursue a major in music education at Texas Christian University where she graduated with honors in 1951.
Upon graduation she began her first teaching position in the Mertzon Texas public school. In Mertzon Marie met her future husband, Fayette Tankersley. Together they married in Pampa Texas and later raised two sons, James Ray and William Claude.
She continued teaching for twenty-seven years, eighteen of which were spent in the Fort Worth public schools. Eula Marie was a dedicated caregiver to her husband, children, and other people, always putting the needs of others before herself.
In 1980 Marie renewed a long love of music by teaching herself to play the accordion. After two years of practice, her proficiency on the instrument allowed her to perform a multi-ethnic solo act at restaurants in Bedford, Fort Worth and Weatherford Texas under the stage name "Merry Marie".
She also enjoyed dancing together with Fayette to polka and country music as members of dance clubs in Burleson and San Angelo, as well as other dance venues in Ennis and Fredericksburg Texas.
Eula Marie was preceded in death by her parents, brother Herman Lewis Meers and husband Fayette Tankersley. She is survived by her sister Dorothy King and husband Roy, son James Ray, son William Claude and wife Margaurite and grandchildren James Eric, Brent and Madison as well as five great grandchildren.
Eula Marie was a member of the First Christian Church in Mertzon and a regular contributor to the Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital. She will be missed by many people.
A graveside service will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2024, at 2:00 PM at Mertzon Cemetery. She will have a open viewing on Friday, April 5, 2024 from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM at Harper Funeral Home.