Individual Details
Helen Loreta "Reta" Combs
(November 5, 1921 - )
"Helen Loreta, known as Reta, grew up in Grandfield, Oklahoma with her father, stepmother, Cora, and her brother. She and her stepmother never got along and shortly after her high school graduation she married a soldier from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. After about four years, and one child, the marriage broke up and Reta moved home with her parents, She left her son with them and went to Fort Worth, Texas for employment.
"She met and married Guy T. Morris in 1950 and moved her son in with them in Fort Worth. Guy was a Fireman and proved to be a good father and husband. She made her career with Champlin Petroleum Co. from which she retired in 1986. Guy retired from the Fire Department in 1977 as a District Chief. He had a stroke and died one month later.
"Reta met and married Edward Burton Evans in 1983. He was a Director at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virgina. He retired shortly after their marriage and moved to Fort Worth. He sold his home in Virginia and bought a motor home and they now travel around the United States and do some traveling abroad.
"RECOLLECTIONS:
"I was born long before television, record players and VCRs but we had radios that stretched our imagination and I was blessed with a father who sang to me and a grandmother who was a wonderful story teller.
"I was born on a late Saturday evening on November 5 1921. My mother had a difficult time and as a result of my birth she required surgery when I was five months old. She developed pneumonia while in the hospital and died on 20 May 1922. My father was heavily in debt after the hospital and funeral expenses so he sold his team of horses and all his equipment. He took my brother and me to his mother's home and went to work at a gin in Rocky, Oklahoma to pay off his debts.
"My brother, Travis, and I lived with our grandmother and step grandfather, John and Amanda Chiddix, until our father remarried in January 1927. My memories of those years are a delight. I adored my grandfather, who called me Baby until the day he died. I loved grandmother too, but in a different way. She was the Monarch of the family and her word was law. I can remember her saying "I may not be always right but I am never wrong"; however along with the discipline went a great deal of indulgence and I loved both grandparents dearly and missed them something fierce when I was taken away.
"I was just past five years old when my Dad married Cora Lee Doty and my brother and I went to live with them in the small town of Grandfield, Tillman County, Oklahoma. Cora was 33 years old when she married Dad, which was considered a spinster in those days. She had always lived with her parents and there is no doubt that she had a problem adjusting to the care of two children who had been spoiled by their grandparents for the last five years. It was quite an adjustment for us too and I would not classify my childhood memories as especially pleasant. However, I discovered early in life, that a sense of humor was a precious commodity and, thankfully, I was born with one.
"The first place that we lived in Grandfield was on the lower east end of Main street just around the corner from the ice plant where Dad had a job. He not only worked in the plant making the ice but he also delivered ice by horse and wagon. I remember him taking Travis and me to the ice plant one day to see how ice was made. It was extremely cold in the plant and there was a heavy odor of ammonia. The door to the outside was thick and tight to keep the cold in and I wanted out of there almost as soon as I heard that heavy door slam.
"Later Dad worked for the Blue Front Grocery. He worked in the store during the morning hours and delivered groceries in the afternoon. The majority of shopping was done by telephone in those days. After the housewife placed her order, Dad would fill it from the shelves and when he had enough orders to fill the Model T truck, he would deliver them. Very few items were perishable and the meat orders were filled, by the butcher, just before Dad left for deliveries. Almost all groceries were charged, including ours, and the customers would come to the store about once a month to settle up their bill. It was customary for the merchant to give the customer a bag of candy when he paid his bill. This was a real treat for my brother and me because it was the only time we got candy except at Christmas.
"Dad finally got a job at the Bell Oil and Gas Refinery located one mile north of town and he bought the house that I grew up in. It was on Main Street, about seven blocks from the commercial part of town---all two blocks of it. At this location we kept a cow, chickens, a large garden and a lovely strawberry patch. The house had two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen and small bathroom where we took our weekly baths. My brother slept in the small bedroom and I slept on a cot in the dining room until Dad was financially able to build another bedroom.
"I went to school from first grade through twelfth in Grandfield. All the kids walked to school, home for lunch, and back again. When we got home from school, in the afternoon, we always had an apple from the peck that was kept behind the swinging door to the kitchen. We did our chores, I gathered the eggs (and how I hated it) and Travis milked the cow. After dinner we did the dishes, I always washed while Travis would dry and more often than not he would pop me on the hindside before we were finished. To this day I still don't know why I didn't make him wash, at least sometimes, so I could pop him one. After our chores were finished it was time for homework and I always had loads of it and Travis had very little. He had the brains in the family---I had to dig for everything I got. Regardless, I enjoyed school and read everything I could get my hands on and I still do. Travis graduated as salutatorian of his senior class --- I was just lucky to graduate.
"When I was in my early teens, Dad traded milk to one of the ladies in town to give me piano lessons. I hated it, hated practicing, hated taking the lessons and wasn't too fond of the teacher. After two years we all gave up on me and the piano. Next Dad traded milk to a neighbor lady to teach me art. I loved it and I loved her. Vida Sims was not only my art teacher she was also my friend. I could talk to Vida and her mother, Mrs. Clark, about any problem that I had. They were dear people and I think the most important thing they taught me, besides looking for the beauty around me, was to find the humor in a situation.
"Our family was Baptist and Dad was a deacon in our church. When I say we attended church, I mean we attended church, (like every time the doors opened) but in later years I was grateful that I had that religious foundation to stand on. Like the rest of the young people in the church we were not allowed to dance, go to movies or attend sports events on Sunday. Of course, smoking, drinking and card playing was unheard of. We didn't necessarily feel deprived because half the kids in our town lived the same way.
"My brother and I spent two weeks each Summer with my mother's sister and her family. Aunt Ethel and Uncle Monroe Reed were very good to us and good for us. Quite often Aunt Ethel would make clothes for me while I was there. Uncle Monroe, who I called "Uncle Roe", would play with me, tease me, and take me to the farm with him. I have dear and fond memories of both of them.
"With the beginning of World War II, all the girls of marriage-age fell in love with love. They were marrying servicemen like it was their obligation to the war effort. I was no exception and on 20 June 1942 I married Harold Andrew "Dee" Harrison. He was a tall, handsome soldier that I had met a mere 6 weeks before. I knew absolutely nothing about his background, education, parents, ambitions, etc. and in peace time the relationship would have never materialized into marriage. Ten months after the marriage he shipped out still somewhat of a stranger to me. Our son, Travis Dee, was born 11 August 1943. Dee returned after the War but the marriage was doomed, actually from the start, and I got a divorce in February 1948. I moved to Fort Worth, Texas where I worked for a commercial hardware company as Inventory Clerk and attended Brantley- Draughn Business College at night. In 1957 I was employed by Champlin Petroleum Company as an Accountant. I spent 26 years with this company retiring as Senior Insurance Analyst in May of 1983.
"On 22 July 1950, I married Guy T. Morris, a city fireman who later became District Fire Chief of Ft. Worth, Texas. He adored my son and the feeling was mutual so he adopted him and was a loving father and husband for 27 years. Although Guy was plagued by medical problems for the last nine years of his life, we were not prepared for the massive stroke that took his life on 10 March 1977.
"I had no desire or intentions of remarrying but on a business trip to New York City I met Edward B. Evans from Blacksburg, Virginia. After a three year courtship we were married on 21 May 1983 in the First Methodist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. We spent the next three years in Blacksburg where I made some lovely friends. After Ed's retirement from Virginia Tech University we moved back to Texas as he had promised he would do when we married. I stay busy now with my many hobbies and since purchasing a motorhome we spend about half of each year traveling.
"I don't think of myself as getting older until I put my arms around some of my grandchildren and find they are taller than I. However, the real shocker came when my oldest granddaughter had a darling baby girl in February of 1990 and made me a great grandmother. Aw, Such is Life!" (by Loreta Combs Evans.) (Reta Evans and has done a book on the Martin Family, A MARTIN FAMILY SAGA, 1794-1992, Texas, Henington Publishing Co., 1992. Her address in 1996 was 5605 Westcreek Drive, Fort Worth, Texas 76133-2246; tele: 817-292-6657. She has also done much work on this branch of the Cantrell family. Additional information about Reta from: Birth Certificate of Helen Loreta Combs, Clerk of Washita County, Oklahoma, Vol. 863, page 500 (Oklahoma State Health Department, born 5 Nov 1921, Rocky, Oklahoma, FATHER: William Virgil Combs, MOTHER: Edna Jane Martin; Marriage Certifidate, Walters, Cotton County, Oklahoma dated 20 June 1942; #63; GROOM: Harold Andrew Harrison (Divorced February 1947); Marriage Certificate, Ft. Worth, Tarrant County, Texas dated 22 July 1950, #2910, GROOM: Guy Tackett Morris (Guy died in March 1977); Marriage Certificate 1983, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas dated 21 May 1983, #20830, GROOM: Edward Burton Evans.)
"She met and married Guy T. Morris in 1950 and moved her son in with them in Fort Worth. Guy was a Fireman and proved to be a good father and husband. She made her career with Champlin Petroleum Co. from which she retired in 1986. Guy retired from the Fire Department in 1977 as a District Chief. He had a stroke and died one month later.
"Reta met and married Edward Burton Evans in 1983. He was a Director at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virgina. He retired shortly after their marriage and moved to Fort Worth. He sold his home in Virginia and bought a motor home and they now travel around the United States and do some traveling abroad.
"RECOLLECTIONS:
"I was born long before television, record players and VCRs but we had radios that stretched our imagination and I was blessed with a father who sang to me and a grandmother who was a wonderful story teller.
"I was born on a late Saturday evening on November 5 1921. My mother had a difficult time and as a result of my birth she required surgery when I was five months old. She developed pneumonia while in the hospital and died on 20 May 1922. My father was heavily in debt after the hospital and funeral expenses so he sold his team of horses and all his equipment. He took my brother and me to his mother's home and went to work at a gin in Rocky, Oklahoma to pay off his debts.
"My brother, Travis, and I lived with our grandmother and step grandfather, John and Amanda Chiddix, until our father remarried in January 1927. My memories of those years are a delight. I adored my grandfather, who called me Baby until the day he died. I loved grandmother too, but in a different way. She was the Monarch of the family and her word was law. I can remember her saying "I may not be always right but I am never wrong"; however along with the discipline went a great deal of indulgence and I loved both grandparents dearly and missed them something fierce when I was taken away.
"I was just past five years old when my Dad married Cora Lee Doty and my brother and I went to live with them in the small town of Grandfield, Tillman County, Oklahoma. Cora was 33 years old when she married Dad, which was considered a spinster in those days. She had always lived with her parents and there is no doubt that she had a problem adjusting to the care of two children who had been spoiled by their grandparents for the last five years. It was quite an adjustment for us too and I would not classify my childhood memories as especially pleasant. However, I discovered early in life, that a sense of humor was a precious commodity and, thankfully, I was born with one.
"The first place that we lived in Grandfield was on the lower east end of Main street just around the corner from the ice plant where Dad had a job. He not only worked in the plant making the ice but he also delivered ice by horse and wagon. I remember him taking Travis and me to the ice plant one day to see how ice was made. It was extremely cold in the plant and there was a heavy odor of ammonia. The door to the outside was thick and tight to keep the cold in and I wanted out of there almost as soon as I heard that heavy door slam.
"Later Dad worked for the Blue Front Grocery. He worked in the store during the morning hours and delivered groceries in the afternoon. The majority of shopping was done by telephone in those days. After the housewife placed her order, Dad would fill it from the shelves and when he had enough orders to fill the Model T truck, he would deliver them. Very few items were perishable and the meat orders were filled, by the butcher, just before Dad left for deliveries. Almost all groceries were charged, including ours, and the customers would come to the store about once a month to settle up their bill. It was customary for the merchant to give the customer a bag of candy when he paid his bill. This was a real treat for my brother and me because it was the only time we got candy except at Christmas.
"Dad finally got a job at the Bell Oil and Gas Refinery located one mile north of town and he bought the house that I grew up in. It was on Main Street, about seven blocks from the commercial part of town---all two blocks of it. At this location we kept a cow, chickens, a large garden and a lovely strawberry patch. The house had two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen and small bathroom where we took our weekly baths. My brother slept in the small bedroom and I slept on a cot in the dining room until Dad was financially able to build another bedroom.
"I went to school from first grade through twelfth in Grandfield. All the kids walked to school, home for lunch, and back again. When we got home from school, in the afternoon, we always had an apple from the peck that was kept behind the swinging door to the kitchen. We did our chores, I gathered the eggs (and how I hated it) and Travis milked the cow. After dinner we did the dishes, I always washed while Travis would dry and more often than not he would pop me on the hindside before we were finished. To this day I still don't know why I didn't make him wash, at least sometimes, so I could pop him one. After our chores were finished it was time for homework and I always had loads of it and Travis had very little. He had the brains in the family---I had to dig for everything I got. Regardless, I enjoyed school and read everything I could get my hands on and I still do. Travis graduated as salutatorian of his senior class --- I was just lucky to graduate.
"When I was in my early teens, Dad traded milk to one of the ladies in town to give me piano lessons. I hated it, hated practicing, hated taking the lessons and wasn't too fond of the teacher. After two years we all gave up on me and the piano. Next Dad traded milk to a neighbor lady to teach me art. I loved it and I loved her. Vida Sims was not only my art teacher she was also my friend. I could talk to Vida and her mother, Mrs. Clark, about any problem that I had. They were dear people and I think the most important thing they taught me, besides looking for the beauty around me, was to find the humor in a situation.
"Our family was Baptist and Dad was a deacon in our church. When I say we attended church, I mean we attended church, (like every time the doors opened) but in later years I was grateful that I had that religious foundation to stand on. Like the rest of the young people in the church we were not allowed to dance, go to movies or attend sports events on Sunday. Of course, smoking, drinking and card playing was unheard of. We didn't necessarily feel deprived because half the kids in our town lived the same way.
"My brother and I spent two weeks each Summer with my mother's sister and her family. Aunt Ethel and Uncle Monroe Reed were very good to us and good for us. Quite often Aunt Ethel would make clothes for me while I was there. Uncle Monroe, who I called "Uncle Roe", would play with me, tease me, and take me to the farm with him. I have dear and fond memories of both of them.
"With the beginning of World War II, all the girls of marriage-age fell in love with love. They were marrying servicemen like it was their obligation to the war effort. I was no exception and on 20 June 1942 I married Harold Andrew "Dee" Harrison. He was a tall, handsome soldier that I had met a mere 6 weeks before. I knew absolutely nothing about his background, education, parents, ambitions, etc. and in peace time the relationship would have never materialized into marriage. Ten months after the marriage he shipped out still somewhat of a stranger to me. Our son, Travis Dee, was born 11 August 1943. Dee returned after the War but the marriage was doomed, actually from the start, and I got a divorce in February 1948. I moved to Fort Worth, Texas where I worked for a commercial hardware company as Inventory Clerk and attended Brantley- Draughn Business College at night. In 1957 I was employed by Champlin Petroleum Company as an Accountant. I spent 26 years with this company retiring as Senior Insurance Analyst in May of 1983.
"On 22 July 1950, I married Guy T. Morris, a city fireman who later became District Fire Chief of Ft. Worth, Texas. He adored my son and the feeling was mutual so he adopted him and was a loving father and husband for 27 years. Although Guy was plagued by medical problems for the last nine years of his life, we were not prepared for the massive stroke that took his life on 10 March 1977.
"I had no desire or intentions of remarrying but on a business trip to New York City I met Edward B. Evans from Blacksburg, Virginia. After a three year courtship we were married on 21 May 1983 in the First Methodist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. We spent the next three years in Blacksburg where I made some lovely friends. After Ed's retirement from Virginia Tech University we moved back to Texas as he had promised he would do when we married. I stay busy now with my many hobbies and since purchasing a motorhome we spend about half of each year traveling.
"I don't think of myself as getting older until I put my arms around some of my grandchildren and find they are taller than I. However, the real shocker came when my oldest granddaughter had a darling baby girl in February of 1990 and made me a great grandmother. Aw, Such is Life!" (by Loreta Combs Evans.) (Reta Evans and has done a book on the Martin Family, A MARTIN FAMILY SAGA, 1794-1992, Texas, Henington Publishing Co., 1992. Her address in 1996 was 5605 Westcreek Drive, Fort Worth, Texas 76133-2246; tele: 817-292-6657. She has also done much work on this branch of the Cantrell family. Additional information about Reta from: Birth Certificate of Helen Loreta Combs, Clerk of Washita County, Oklahoma, Vol. 863, page 500 (Oklahoma State Health Department, born 5 Nov 1921, Rocky, Oklahoma, FATHER: William Virgil Combs, MOTHER: Edna Jane Martin; Marriage Certifidate, Walters, Cotton County, Oklahoma dated 20 June 1942; #63; GROOM: Harold Andrew Harrison (Divorced February 1947); Marriage Certificate, Ft. Worth, Tarrant County, Texas dated 22 July 1950, #2910, GROOM: Guy Tackett Morris (Guy died in March 1977); Marriage Certificate 1983, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas dated 21 May 1983, #20830, GROOM: Edward Burton Evans.)
Events
| Birth | November 5, 1921 | Rocky, Washita County, Oklahoma | |||
| Marriage | June 20, 1942 | Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma - Harold Andrew Harrison | |||
| Marriage | July 22, 1950 | Tarrant, Tarrant County, Texas - Guy Tackett Morris | |||
| Marriage | May 21, 1983 | Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas - Edward Burton Evans | |||
| Divorce | Harold Andrew Harrison |
Families
| Spouse | Guy Tackett Morris (1910 - 1977) |
| Child | Travis Dee Morris (adopted) (1943 - ) |
| Spouse | Harold Andrew Harrison (1919 - ) |
| Spouse | Edward Burton Evans (1924 - ) |
| Father | William Virgel Combs (1892 - 1976) |
| Mother | Edna Jane Martin (1895 - 1922) |
| Sibling | Newell Travis Combs (1916 - ) |