Yoakum County Genealogy

Memorial services for Gene Kidd will be held Friday, June 23rd, 2006 at 11 a.m. in the First United Methodist Church of Denver City. Burial will follow in Denver City Memorial Park. All services are under the direction of Boyer Funeral Chapel of Denver City. Gene Kidd, one of the last pioneer women of Denver City, was taken quickly and lovingly by the angels into Paradise in the evening of June 6, 2006, at home. She was the fourth of five daughters born to Mack and Iva Titsworth in Paris, Texas on January 30, 1918. Gene married Willard Kidd, her high school sweetheart, in McCamey on November 13, 1933. They had three children, Hannah, Lee, and Sharon. With her late husband and their three children, they moved to Denver City in the winter of 1939. Willard worked in Jesse Allen's clothing store. The family moved away briefly but returned to Denver City.

Willard worked in the oil field and Gene managed a small hotel until Willard purchased the Oasis Cafe. Denver City was a bustling oil boomtown, without pavement or sidewalks. There were many new businesses going up and much activity. It was during the WWII years and most of the able-bodied men were gone to war, leaving much work to be done by the women and remaining men. Food was rationed and it was a challenge to have meals to serve. Everyone in the family helped during those years. Being so young and with few resources they worked long, hard, hours and the cafe business become very profitable for them. In 1948 they sold the cafe and Willard started an oilfield-related business operating hot oil trucks. Their home became the office and Gene did all the office work, answered the phone orders, and took care of three growing children. This start in the oilfield became W.L. Kidd Oil Field Service, which their son Lee continued to operate after Willard's death in 1972.

Gene became aware of the hardships the newly arriving bracero families from Mexico were having. She became involved in helping to get them better living quarters, the things they needed, and medical help from Dr. Tinley. Anyone she could recruit to help, she did. Denver City was a very generous community. Before there was a food bank, her garage was a storehouse of donated goods which she regularly delivered to these families. She encouraged the children to go to school and learn to speak English. She became involved in the Frank Laubach's "Each One - Teach One" method of teaching English. These bracero children grew up to be educated and part of the "movers and shakers" of Denver City.

God sent an unexpected gift to Gene and Willard one Sunday afternoon in 1951. Sally was a three month-old baby who became the center of the family. When Gene's health began to fail, it was Sally who changed places with Gene in the caring role.

In October 1975, Gene married Ellis Furgason in Houston. Ellis died on Valentine's Day 1989. True to her character, she faced this new challenge. She became interested in investing and spent much time educating herself and became a very successful woman in the investment world.

Gene was a skilled gardener, was one of the original "Pink Ladies" at the hospital, and was active in the Yoakum County Home Demonstration Club. She was a deeply committed Christian, which her life reflected. She was an avid reader, devoting much time to studying and learning more about growing into the spiritual life, even until the last day of her life. She was the example for her children of how a Christian serves. She was a life-long Methodist and their daughter, Sharon, was the first baby baptized in the Denver City Methodist Church. She loved traveling and took many cruises, traveled extensively in the U.S. including both Alaska and Hawaii, and visited both South America and Europe. Mexico was always her favorite.

Gene was the greatest mother and grandmother, loved and adored by all 39 of her children and grandchildren. Nothing in her life brought her as much joy as her special relationship with each and every one of them.

A son, Lee Kidd of Denver City; three daughters, Hannah Tipps and Sharon Daniels of Lubbock and Sally Scott of Denver City survive Gene. She has a daughter-in-law, Edith Kidd, and two sons-in-law, Robert Tipps and Troy Scott, all of whom were like her own and were wonderful to her. She has 11 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and three great great-grandchildren, and the mates of these children; her four sisters' children and their families; a host of friends, and two very special ladies, Wilma Criswell and Elva Apodaca.

The family requests memorials to be given in her memory to the GENE KIDD MEMORIAL FUND Denver City First United Methodist Church, 210 4th Street, Denver City, Texas 79323; and the Yoakum County Hospital Foundation.