Air Force Chow Time, France
(from Floyd Dean's photos)
In 1907, at the age of 37 years on Tuesday, March 19, 1907, Lizzie died at her home 2 miles due west of Merkel, Texas. Richard summoned the Sheppherd Funeral Parlor in Merkel who prepared his wife's body for burial and returned her to her home and where she lay until her funeral. According to funeral records, Lizzie's funeral under the direction of the Sheppherd Funeral Parlor was conducted from the First Baptist Church in Merkel, Texas. Following the service, Lizzie's body was transported to Merkel's Rose Hill Cemetery and interred in the Dean family plot. Shortly after Lizzie's death Richard returned to Van Zandt County, Texas. He resided with his sister and brother-in-law, Mary Estella "Minnie" Dean and William Starrett "W. S." Booe. Richard planted a huge garden. The garden yielded an abundant supply of fresh vegetables, which he and the Booe family shared with their neighbors. Prior to 1910 Richard's sister and brother-in-law, Minnie and "W. S." Booe, opened a retail grocery in Grand Saline, and during the ensuing twenty years the grocery was known as the Booe Family Grocery. Richard worked as a clerk in the Booe's Grocery, assisting Minnie and "W. S." in the daily operations of the neighborhood store. (Hulan Dean family history, by Milton Forsythe)