ISBELL, WILLIAM A., JR.

William Andrew Isbell, Jr., 85, died Sunday, December 9, 2007, at an Abilene medical center. The graveside service will be 2 p.m. Wednesday in Hawley Cemetery with Rev. David Cason officiating, directed by Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home, 542 Hickory. The family will receive friends from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. The son of Willie Addizue (Brumbelow) and William Andrew Isbell, he was born in Jones County, Texas. He was a graduate of Hawley High School and a lifetime resident of Hawley. He served during World War II in the U.S. Navy as a pharmacist”s mate second class and the U. S. Marine Corps Raiders as a member of the Edson and Carlson Brigade. During his July, 1944, tour of duty in Guam, he was awarded the Purple Heart. W. A. married Yvonne Duke Fritz in 1978 in San Antonio. He was a member of Broadview Baptist Church in Abilene. His parents, four brothers, three sisters and his first wife, Dovie Jean Burns Isbell, preceded him in death. Survivors include his wife, Yvonne Isbell of Hawley; a son, Kenneth Isbell and wife, Sandy, of Rock Port; three daughters, Darlene Hicks and husband, Thomas, Jan Knight and husband, Danny, and Rhonda Rutledge and husband, Roger, all of Hawley; a stepson, Lance Fritz of San Antonio; 15 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.