Myrtle Belle “Myrt” Fowlkes

Myrtle Belle “Myrt” Fowlkes, 85, passed away Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014.

A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday in Biggers Chapel.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Lake Worth Historical Society.

Myrtle Belle Smith was born Nov. 5, 1928, in Vernon. She came to Fort Worth in 1931 and moved to Lake Worth in 1940. She was very involved in civic activities after she graduated from Lake Worth High School in 1945.

Myrtle Bell married Neal Laverty in 1947 and the had a daughter, Diane, and sons, Neil and John.

She was the dispatcher for the police and fire departments during the Gamblers and Gangsters Era on Jacksboro Highway. She organized and was the first president of the Women’s Auxiliary for the Lake Worth Volunteer Fire Department.

Myrt and Neal divorced in 1961 and she then married Jerry Sanders in 1966. Jerry passed away in 1986. She served nine years on the Lake Worth ISD School Board. In 1998 she married Earl Fowlkes and moved to Arizona where Earl was living. When they returned to Texas in 2000, Myrt was elected to the Lake Worth City Council and served 10 years with stints on the Economic Development Corporation and was on the steering committee to establish the Lake Worth Historical Society. She served as its president and was instrumental in the establishment of the Lake Worth Museum.

She was a member of the Northwest Chamber of Commerce and received the Citizen of the Year Award in 1994 and 2011. She was a longtime member of the Lake Worth Kiwanis and Lions Clubs and helped establish the Christmas Express for the Lake Worth area. She was the recipient of the Lions Club Melvin Jones Fellow Award given for dedicated humanitarian services. She also served on the Texas Bingo Committee in the 1990s. In May 2014, Myrt received the Eagle Mountain Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Community Service Award for her work in the Lake Worth Historical Society and the establishment of the Lake Worth Museum.

Myrt was preceded in death by her mother; father; stepfather; and brother, Gilbert.

Survivors include her husband, Earl Fowlkes; children, Diane Houston, Neil Laverty and wife, Diane, and John Laverty and friend, Ken Wilson; stepchildren, Jerri Francis Engles and husband, Elvie, Linda Harper and Judy Fleming; sister, Sue Ellis and husband, Joe; nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and numerous other extended family members.