Hornsby, Gladys Emma Stegall 

Gladys Emma Stegall Hornsby, 93, was born March 28, 1913, in Upshur County, Texas. 
Her parents were Caroline "Carrie" Langford Stegall and William W. Stegall. She was 
married to William "Bill" Bradford Hornsby, who died March 3, 1981. Gladys resided 
in East Texas almost all of her life. She spent her young life in the Upshur County 
region with her family. Gladys was the youngest and last surviving of nine children. 
For a few years during World War II, she, her husband, Bill, and their three children 
lived in Electra, Texas, where Bill was employed in the oil industry. They returned 
to Gladewater and later to White Oak, where they lived for many years at 321 White 
Oak Road. She died April 10, 2006, at Song Bird Assisted Living in Longview. On March 
25, 2006, she was admitted to the hospital for a week; she returned to Song Bird with 
hospice care, special nursing, and sitters. The family is grateful to the many people 
who helped care for her and make her final days pleasant, comfortable, and painless. 
She received compassion and comfort care from many, among those include: Mary Askew, 
Gene Minchew-Allbright, Stephanie Dunn, Billy Stegall, Greater Hospice of Longview, 
and the entire staff of Song Bird. At the assisted living facility, she continued to 
be involved in visiting, outings, assisting with the mail, arranging religious meetings, 
helping to decorate the center for holidays, and much more. She was interested and 
vigorous, still making Friday trips to the beauty shop, until March 25, 2006. Gladys was 
a woman of many talents and interests. She gloried in exploring new hobbies and new 
undertakings. She was a very talented seamstress and designer; she sewed for herself 
and her daughters. She designed and sewed many projects for home decorations, 
specializing in window treatments, for herself, her family, and others. Gladys took 
courses at Kilgore College, ranging from hat making to cake decorating to quilting. 
She and her husband owned many rental properties; she was the major renovator and 
decorator on many of the projects. She was active in the White Oak Missionary Baptist 
Church for more than 50 years, where she sang in the choir and served as Sunday school 
teacher for the primary class for 37 years, and, later, as teacher of the adult Loyal 
Workers Class. Recently, she joined the Greggton Missionary Baptist Church. Gladys 
Hornsby was active in the White Oak Parent Teacher Association during all the years her 
children were in school. She served in many offices of the White Oak PTA, including 
president. She was later president of the County Council of PTAs and active at the 
regional and state level. Even after her last child was in college, she still served 
and attended the state conventions and supported PTA causes. She received many honors 
for her work, including a National Life PTA Membership, and was privileged to meet 
several famous people. Gladys especially treasured her meeting with Dr. Louis Sabin, 
who developed the polio vaccine. She was pictured with him in several publications. 
Gladys was an avid gardener who found much joy in her flowers, her lawn, her trees, 
and in caring for her home in White Oak. She was an excellent cook and baked pies to 
perfection, much to the delight of her family. She was famous for her chicken dumpling 
recipe and for demonstrating her technique which was featured in the Longview newspaper. 
She was both a Girl Scout and a Cub Scout leader. The April 2005 issue of "Reader's 
Digest" relates an incident in her recent life that exemplifies her forward-looking mind 
set. Her daughter, Mary, wrote that when told to stop worrying about her finances since 
she had enough money to remain at the Song Bird for 17 more years, Gladys said, "What 
will I do then?" She is survived by three children, Mary and Max Scott of Edom, who was 
her primary care supervisor, Carol and Robert Bennett of College Park, Maryland, and Tom 
and Carol Hornsby of Hilton Head, South Carolina. She is also survived by six 
grandchildren, Bill Bennett of Newport News, Virginia, Patrice Bennett of Jacksonville, 
Florida, Steve and Cindi Scott of Houston, Chris Scott of Edom, Alisha Hornsby of Marina 
del Rey, California, and Brad Hornsby of Palo Alto, California; five great-grandchildren, 
Jake, Katie, T.J. Kallie, and Noel, all Scotts; a host of nieces, nephews, and other 
family members; plus many friends and acquaintances; and the Song Bird family. Services 
will be 2 p.m. Thursday, April 14, 2006, at Rader Funeral Home Chapel of Longview, with 
the Reverend Bill Voss and the Reverend Jimmy Kirkland officiating. Interment will follow 
in Old White Cemetery. The family will receive guests 5-7 p.m. Wednesday evening, April 12,
 2006, at Rader Funeral Home. A memorial guestbook may be signed online at www.raderfh.com.

Published in the Longview News-Journal on 4/12/2006.