Mike Poole

Graveside service for Mr. Mike Poole, 77, of Marshall, formerly of Gilmer, will be held Friday, October 5, 2018 at 2 p.m. at Gilmer City Cemetery with Judge Tim Bryan officiating. Family will receive friends from 12:30 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. at Croley Funeral Home in Gilmer. Mr. Poole passed away on Sunday, September 30, in Marshall.
Mr. Poole was born August 28, 1941 in Gilmer to A.B. and Faye Poole (Arnold), two lifelong Upshur County residents.
He was active in the community throughout high school before going on to study at Texas A&M University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in agriculture education in 1963. He completed his Master of Education and Administration in 1967 from Texas A&M. He had a special way about him that enabled him to share his wisdom and relate to anyone.
Mr. Poole began his working life as an educator, serving as an assistant coach and science teacher at New Diana School, where he was the 1966 Teacher of the Year. He went on to work as an assistant superintendent and biology teacher in Pittsburg in 1967. He made an impression and had an impact on people throughout in his life.
From there, he went on to work at Texas Instruments in Dallas until 1973, when he returned to East Texas to work alongside his father, A.B., who had retired from banking. Together, they opened and operated an auto parts and tire store. His roots and his family meant a lot to him.
With an entrepreneur spirit, he went on to a long career in the automotive industry, riding the roads throughout the Ark-La-Tex with his tire truck full to the brim. He formed lifelong relationships out on those highways and in the coffee shops in East Texas.
Each step of the way, his cherished 1960 Ford F-100 pickup was there, from rides to the farm with his parents and all the way through his life. His loyalty to those that he cared about and his work ethic show in the way the truck sits to this day, clean and with a fresh set of tires.
Mr. Poole is preceded in death by his beloved parents.
He is survived by his daughters, Micha Sue Poole, of Bossier City, La., Brandee Brown and husband, Terry, of Longview; and grandchildren, Hayden and Jorden Henry, of Longview, Hayleigh Dickson, of Elysian Fields, Jake and Cabe Dickson, of Waskom, and Denver and Deacon Brown, of Longview; and a great-granddaughter, Lenny Kay Morris, of Elysian Fields.