Elmer Churchman

At work in 1937 (Age 28)

Early Family Portrait - 1946

Elmer and children - 1953

• Sex: M
• Born: September 22, 1909 in Texas (Franklin or Red River Counties)
• Died: September 7, 1954 in Fort Worth, Texas in Harris Hospital of coronary occlusion.
• Buried: September 9, 1954 at Elgin Cemetery in Elgin, Texas
• Notes: Elmer’s nickname was "Monk". He grew up in Bogata, Texas, the only boy in a family of seven children. He only completed the fifth grade, forced to work to help his family make ends meet during the days of the Great Depression. His father was a share-cropper. He did farm work, construction work, and then went to work for Layne Texas, where be became the foreman on a water well drilling rig, an occupation he continued until his death. Elmer continued to support his family as an adult and did not marry until his mother Vinnie's death in 1943.

  For most of his married life, Elmer and his family lived in an Airstream trailer. They moved wherever he was drilling a water well, from the southern tip of Texas to Rapid City, South Dakota. In 1953, with four children and the fifth on the way, Monk and Audrey bought a home in Dallas, Texas. Slightly more than a year later, at the age of 45, he died of a massive heart attack while at work.

  Monk had an easy-going personality, made friends readily, and was widely loved and respected by his family, friends, and co-workers.

Father: John Blackburn Churchman, b. January 3, 1875 in Jefferson County, Tennessee

Mother: Vinnie Clevenger, b. May 8, 1881 in Morristown, Tennessee -- d. June 10, 1943 in Red River County, Texas -- buried in the Bogata Cemetery, Bogata, Texas -- daughter of George Henry Clevenger and Mahala D. Clark

Family 1: Hazel Audrey Capps, b. September 14, 1916 in Elgin, Texas

• Married: July 26, 1943 in Dalhart, Texas in Dallam County. Elmer and Audrey were married by Evangelist J. D. Taylor in a Church of Christ.

1. Elmer Wayne Churchman, b. April 20, 1945 in Houston, Texas
2. Gale Elaine Churchman, b. April 20, 1945 in Houston, Texas
3. Edwin Glyn Churchman, b. Nov. 14, 1946 in Elgin, Texas
4. Bobby Gene Churchman, b. June 19, 1949 in Elgin, Texas
5. Darrell Ray Churchman, b. Dec. 19, 1951 in Elgin, Texas
6. Wanda Kay Churchman, b. July 7, 1953 in Dallas, Texas

Sources:

1. Interview with Ruby Churchman
2. Interview with Audrey Churchman
3. Elmer Churchman’s Death Certificate
4. Gale Elaine Churchman’s Birth Certificate
5. Picture from Vinnie Allbritton