James Oscar Dear

James Oscar Dear passed away on January 28, 2014. He was born May 15, 1916 in Mineola, Texas to Sam Houston Dear and Nancy Jane Carroll Dear. He graduated from Mineola High School and was a lifelong resident of Mineola. He was drafted by the Army and served in the intelligence service for the Allied Air Forces during World War II. He had the job of intercepting German Code and won the Meritorious Achievement Award for intercepting the code responsible for destroying the last group of JU88 German bombers based in Southern France saving a convoy of ships in the Mediterranean Sea. He also received two Bronze Stars for other efforts during the war. When not manning his radio post, he spent his time showing movies to the servicemen. He began working at a theater when he was 12 and worked in the theater business in Mineola at some capacity for 58 years, only taking time away from that business during WWII. He and Truman Thomas were owners/operators of the Select Theater until they both retired and donated their business to the Lake Country Playhouse. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church where he had served as a Sunday school teacher and was on various committees over the years. He was very active in the Mineola Chamber of Commerce and received the Mineola Man of the Year Award. He enjoyed raising cattle and farming. He was a founder of the Mineola Hay Show and the Junior Livestock Show. He served on the Meredith Foundation for many years and was the Chairman of the Foundation for 25 years. He was also a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow Award from the Rotary Foundation. He enjoyed being a part of creating and retelling the history of Mineola and Wood County.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife: Frances Dear, a brother: Sam Houston Dear, a brother in law: Sam Park Leeper, and a niece: Nancy Ann Leeper. He is survived by a sister: Nancy Elizabeth Leeper, a daughter: Martha Holmes and husband Jody Holmes, two granddaughters: Nicole Turner and husband Brandon Turner, and Savannah Holmes and finance’ Jerry Simcik. He is also survived by a great-grandson: Colt Turner. Visitation will be at Beaty Funeral Home Mineola on Friday, January 31, 2014 from 6-8 PM. Funeral service will be on Saturday, February 1, 2014 at 10:00 AM at the First United Methodist Church in Mineola. Interment will follow at Roselawn Memorial Gardens.