Tobey Crawford Tomblin, Sr.

Tobey Crawford Tomblin, Sr., 77, of San Marcos passed away Sunday, July 29, 2007 after a long and hard battle with cancer. He was born in Bruni, Texas in Jan. 2, 1931 to Sadie Peterson-Tomblin and Tommie Tomblin. He was preceded in death by his parents and his loving wife, Dorothy Iris Sexton-Tomblin.
He is survived by his children, Deborah Elaine Bissonnet and husband

Mike of Lockhart, Brenda Joyce Brown and husband Bo of Neiderwald, and Tobey Crawford Tomblin, Jr. and wife Brenda Kay of Sandbranch; grandchildren, Victoria Bissonnet, Whitney Brown, Kendall Brown, Stacie Tomblin, Lena Tomblin, Brittany Tomblin and Tobey Crawford Tomblin, III; sisters, Mary Ruth Henry and husband Dale of Lampasas, and Shirley Mains of Kansas; sisters-in-law, Sandra Malkus and husband Mike of San Antonio and Claudia Duffek of Stockdale; cousin, Ray Duncan and wife Mary of San Marcos; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Tobey served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. He loved God, his country, and his family wholeheartedly. He told stories of being raised in Bigfoot by his grandmother Lena Winters-Tomblin and grandfather John. He considered Lena and John as his second parents as they taught him his life values. He had many tales to tell of his hunting and fishing in the creeks of Bigfoot. He loved his Uncle Buddy. He had many hobbies; he had a green thumb and could raise or grow many difficult plants such as orchids. He loved to raise his many breeds of roosters and hens. He had a passion for fishing and never met a fish he didn’t mind catching. He loved every one of his special dogs, Katie and April, Beau Jet, Hobo, Pokey and Missy, Buster and most of all, his final companion Tinkerbell the chihuahua.
As of late, Tobey was an avid player in the San Marcos Sunrise Village evening domino players. He seldom missed a game at the community center with his friends Jim, Marilee, Doris, Sarah, Charlotte, Nellie and Clyde. He was also a member of the Sunrise Village Drama Club, where he played the role of the local agricultural news and weatherman.
Tobey was a family man. He loved his family dearly. He loved his wife Dorothy and cared for her throughout her years of battling cancer. He supported Dorothy in her artistic talents of making dolls and Carousel Horses and collecting special porcelain dolls. He taught his children to be honest and fair, and that integrity is a way of life. He was involved in community with Little League and, Pop-Warner Football for many years in San Antonio. He was a volunteer of Band Boosters and Athletics at McCollum High. He supported his children in dance lessons, music, football, baseball and anything they wished to learn. He loved his grandchildren so very, very much. He was very proud of his family and talked of them to anyone he met.
Tobey worked hard, from the age of 14, at local gas stations in Devine and Natalia. He moved on to other endeavors as a roughneck on many drilling rigs across Texas. He served his country during the Korean Conflict. He worked at Kelly Airfield as an electronics engineer on air planes and he worked for the IBM Corporation in San Antonio as a Senior Service Engineer on large mainframe computers where he retired after 30 years.
He was proud of his Texas heritage. He was a native son of Texas. His great grandfather, James George from Gonzales on his mother, Sadie Peterson’s, side was a defender of the Alamo. His family roots can be traced to Wimberley, Texas as the Winters Family helped to settle the area for pioneering families. Tobey’s other great-grandfather lived in Caldwell County and was killed just about a mile from the Lockhart Square.
Tobey was a Christian. He and his wife Dorothy were baptized in 1966 at the Palo Alto Church of Christ in San Antonio.
He missed Dorothy, his wife of 54 years, after her passing Jan. 1, 2006. His grief for her sometimes overtook him, but his faith calmed and gave him peace. He was a strong man and held his own ground with cancer. In his final moments, he talked of his love for his children and grandchildren. His final wish was to be with his heavenly family and Dorothy.
To know him was to love him. His never-ending stories of fishing and chickens could keep a person entertained for hours. He was a true people person and was loved by so many people in his last weary months.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Sand Branch Baptist Church, 1250 CR 313, Big Foot, Texas 78005. He has many family members buried at Sand Branch and Brummet Cemeteries.
Graveside services were held at the Sand Branch Cemetery, on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007 at 2 p.m.
Services were handled by Hurley Funeral Home of Pleasanton, Texas.