Oneal Towery

Oneal Towery passed away peacefully at his home in Bishop, TX, surrounded by his immediate family, on September 9, 2021.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Grace, his son, James (Jere) and daughter Pam Johnson. Oneal had 5 grandchildren – Michele Walkowski (Bill), Melissa Duis (Adam), Brandon Towery (Carolyn), Clayton Johnson, and Jenny Johnson.  He also has two great-grandchildren – Ryan Duis and Autumn Towery.  Out of a family of eight children, Oneal has one surviving sister, Jonnie Canfield and numerous nephews and nieces.

Oneal joined the United States Navy in 1943, at the age of 17, during World War II.  He served aboard the carrier U.S.S. Salamaua.  He was in Toyko Bay on September 2, 1945, the day the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed.  Oneal told many stories of his days in the service.  He did not serve very many years, but he was a true veteran of the country he loved.

He started working at Celanese in Bishop, TX in 1947. Oneal

was a dedicated employee that started out as an operator in production, went on to be a supervisor, and retired as senior operation’s specialist II.  Oneal took full advantage of the company benefits – golf course, where he hit a hole-in-one, the swimming pool, the rifle range and gun club.

Oneal enjoyed a variety of hobbies – hunting, fishing, and metal junk art.  He was an avid outdoorsman – he enjoyed hunting deer in the South Texas brush country, Colorado and Utah.  He had many early morning fishing adventures on Lake Mathis and Baffin Bay.  After his retirement, he began welding pieces of metal together to make various art projects – chickens, roadrunners, cowboys, bulls, and even a dinosaur. He loved giving his art work to his family and friends.

Oneal was an active member of the First Baptist Church in Bishop where he served on various committees throughout his membership.  He was the snow cone man for VBS for many years, the flag raiser each Sunday morning, and as a grounds committee member – he knew the ins and outs of the church building.

A memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church in Bishop on Friday, September 24, 2021 at 2:00 PM.  Visitation will follow the service.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Baptist Church and Restland Cemetery in Bishop.