John Robert Ethridge

John Robert Ethridge, 84, died on March 3, 2014 after a short illness.

Committal with military honors will be held at 9:00 a.m. Thursday at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Biggers Funeral Chapel

John was born November 5, 1929, in Lindsay, Oklahoma to Robert Rutledge Ethridge and Mandy Anderson Ethridge. He was member of First United Methodist Church in Hobbs, New Mexico.

The family moved to Sundown, Texas in the forties where John graduated from Sundown High School in 1948. John excelled as an athlete, winning the state championship in the 880 in 1948. He enrolled at TCU on a football and track scholarship, but during his sophomore season moved to a basketball and baseball scholarship. He was selected to the All-Southwest Conference (First Team – basketball) in 1952, was selected as the team MVP award winner, and later designated as an All-Time Letterman for the Horned Frogs. He graduated from TCU in 1952 with a degree in Education. His passion and love of baseball led him to spend several summers on the Cleveland Indians farm team, the Shawnee Hawks.

John served in the United States Army and was honorably discharged in 1954. Following his years of service, he attended Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts, where he received his Master’s Degree in Psychology.

In 1956, he became the head basketball coach at Dimmitt High School reaching the state finals of the Boys basketball tournament in 1960 and 1961. In the summer of 1962, John was selected as the North High School Coach for the Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game. Later in 1962 he was hired as the head basketball coach at Amarillo High School where he coached the Sandies for seven seasons. In 1968 he became a General Agent for Reserve Life Insurance Business, until his retirement. He was also an avid golfer, where for many years he enjoyed the camaraderie of friends, partners, and clients as much as he did the golf itself.

In 1957 he married Mitzi Wilson of Dimmitt. Born to this union four children: Kirk, KaKa, Kriss and Kamie Ethridge. In 1976 he married Luella J. Dean and they resided in Hobbs, New Mexico, with her two sons, Bartow and Joe Frank Dean until moving to Ft. Worth in 2007.

He is survived by his daughters, Kriss Ethridge of Lubbock and Kamie Ethridge of Manhattan, Kansas; two step sons Bartow Dean of Wyoming and Joe Frank Dean of Saginaw; his brother, Doug Ethridge and his wife Patsy of Mansfield; and his sister, Kathy Hogue of Arlington; and a very large extended family.