W. H. (Bill) Venable, 91, of Waco and later, Ennis, Texas, passed away Monday morning, Nov. 13, 2017. Graveside services will be at 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home and Memorial Park in Colleyville, Texas. Rev. Nathan Tucker will officiate.
Bill was born in Garrett, Texas, to William Hester Venable and Irene Groves Venable on February 15, 1926. He graduated from Ennis High School and then served in World War II. Upon his return from the war, his sister Ann introduced him to Martha Johnston of Dallas, and they were married three months later on October 4, 1946.
They lived in Ft. Worth/Dallas for many years where they started their first business Venable Auto Supply in Irving before moving to Waco in 1960 where they opened, co-owned and operated several S&H Auto Supply stores and a hardware store called Home Hardware Center. Besides being an entrepreneur, Bill was a rancher at heart and also co-owned and operated a 800 acre working cattle ranch near Kosse, Texas in Robertson County for many years. With help from a few of his friends, he built a rustic 50’ x 60’ log cabin that slept 15+ and was made from trees they cut down on the property and items salvaged from a recently burned-down hotel down the road. Thanksgiving at the cabin became a long-standing tradition and included hunting, horse riding, hay rides for the kids, late night poker games and lots of great friends, family and food.
Hunting was one of Bill’s passions and he loved to hunt everything from deer in Texas to Elk and other game in places like Montana and Nebraska. Bill put himself into his hunting like he did everything else; assembling his own shotgun shells, making his own exotic jerky, and mastering the art of hide tanning and taxidermy.
When Bill wasn’t working cattle at the ranch, hunting out of state with friends or running the auto supply & hardware stores, you would find him at a local golf course perfecting his game. He was an avid golfer, shooting in the high 70’s/low 80’s for much of his life. He enjoyed a hole in one in his 50’s, began making his own (and others) custom clubs in his sixties and could still hold his own on the golf course in his seventies actually shooting his age twice.
Bill and Martha were active in their church and community. Bill was a member of the First Christian Church of Waco where he served many roles including elder. He served on the board of the First National Bank of Waco and he also served as President of the Texas and Southwest Cattleman’s Association. They were members of Ridgewood Country Club, several bridge and social groups and a number of other clubs and charitable organizations. Martha preceded him in death after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Bill moved back to his hometown of Ennis. He married Dorothy Jack Perdue Oates in 2008 who had been a long-time friend and high-school classmate.
Bill is survived by daughters, Shari McFarland and her husband, Ron, of North Richland Hills; Sandra McIntosh and her husband, Dee, of Colleyville; son, Dr. Mark Venable and his wife, Dr. Susan Fischer, of Sherman; step-children Dick Perdue & wife Lee of South Carolina; Larry Perdue & wife Janet of Garrett Texas and David Perdue & wife Vanessa of Ennis; grandchildren Kelly McFarland Lawrence and her husband, Larry Lawrence of Colleyville, Sean McFarland and his wife, Kristy of North Richland Hills, Christie McFarland Bush and her husband Adam Bush of North Richland Hills; Cole Venable and his wife, Misty of Fort Worth, Joe Morgan of Flower Mound and Andi Risk of Colleyville; great-grandchildren Lauren McFarland, Ty McFarland Reagan McFarland and Madison Wolfe all of North Richland Hills; Cheyenne Hailey of Keller and Blake and Brooklynn Eckols and Faith Lawrence of Colleyville; and good long time friend Mary Ludwig of Ennis.
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