Virgil Lee Sewell passed away at his home in Kessler Park in Dallas on October 16, 2011, taken by pancreatic cancer, but grateful for a long and rewarding life. He was born June 17, 1916 in Coleman County, Texas to Vera Ward Sewell and Isaac Virgil Sewell. His brother Roy and sister Chloe Brown are deceased. Virgil grew up on ranches in that part of Texas, gaining his work ethic the old way by doing farm and ranch work such as picking cotton. He graduated from Santa Anna , TX High School in 1934 and moved to Ft. Worth, to attend Brantley Draughon Business College there. At Brantley Draughon and at Ft. Worth’s Broadway Baptist Church, Virgil met Mary Elizabeth Reeves, whom he married in 1937. They had two children, Elizabeth Ann and Virgil Lawrence (Larry).
He took a job with the General Portland Cement Company’s Trinity Portland cement plant in Ft. Worth, and was with General Portland until 1953, also working at its plants in Fredonia, KS, Cement City MI, and Dallas, TX. In 1953, he was hired by Texas Industries, Inc. where he held various management positions until his retirement as Senior Vice President in 1986. He was instrumental in the company’s cement production business, beginning with the construction of a cement plant in Midlothian, TX opened in 1960, and followed by other plants elsewhere.
In 1984, his wife Mary Elizabeth passed away. Later, he found himself fortunate to marry Martha Roberts, whom he met at Texas Industries, and to bring her son Scott into his family.
Virgil was a lifelong, avid golfer, but despite the frustrations inflicted by the golf course, he remained a man of strong, positive faith. He was active in the leadership of Broadway Baptist Church for many years, then at Cliff Temple in Dallas, and most recently at Trinity Presbyterian Church in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. Particularly in his retirement years, he volunteered to take much of the responsibility for the maintenance of the building and mechanical facility of Trinity, obviously enjoying figuring out how sometimes outdated equipment could be repaired. After the Trinity congregation became inactive, Virgil provided similar assistance to the congregation Iglesia Presbiteriana Emmanuel for several years as it was becoming established in the former Trinity church building. He was also welcomed by Grace Presbytery as a solver of occasional facility problems at its former offices in Dallas.
In 1987, members of Trinity formed Oasis Housing Corporation and purchased a small apartment building to provide transitional housing for homeless working people. Virgil was among volunteers who made extensive renovations of the building and looked after the apartments. Another organization which he enjoyed supporting is the Oak Cliff Churches for Emergency Aid, which responds to individual emergency needs, including distributing food, personal items and financial aid. Virgil found great satisfaction in being able to help these groups. Those who wish to do so would be welcome to make a donation in his memory to Oak Cliff Churches for Emergency Aid, P.O. Box 3923, Dallas, TX 75208.
Virgil is survived by his wife Martha, his daughter Elizabeth Ann Teeters of Bossier City, LA, sons Larry Sewell of Dallas and Scott Roberts of Southlake, five grandchildren, two great grandchildren, and his faithful dog Shadow.
There will be a graveside service on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 1:00 PM at Merrell Cemetery, in the 4000 block of Merrell Road, west of Midway Rd, followed by a memorial service to celebrate Virgil’s life at 3:00 PM at Iglesia Presbiteriana Emmanuel, 901 N. Zang Blvd., in Oak Cliff.