Troy Wayne Sirmans, Sr.

Troy Wayne Sirmans, Sr. White Oak -- Mass of Christian Burial for Troy, 74, of White Oak, will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, February 11, 2012, at St. Matthew"s Catholic Church, with Reverend Monsignor John Flynn, Reverend Father Mark Dunn, Reverend Father Hank Lanik, and Reverend Father Ronald Demski officiating. Burial will be in the Old White Oak Cemetery. A rosary will be recited at 6:00 P.M. on Friday with visitation following at Croley Funeral Home in Gladewater. Born on July 26, 1937, in Queen City, to Thelma Graves Sirmans and Jessie Wayne Sirmans, he died on Wednesday, February 8, 2012. Reared in Atlanta, he finished school and then relocated to Dallas to work at General Motors. He joined the Army and was stationed in Germany. He then returned to Dallas to work at Trinity Ind. and joined the 49th Armored Division Reserves. After working one year, he was sent to Fort Polk in Leesville, Louisiana, during the 1962 Cuban Crisis. It was while there that he met the love of his life, Marilyn Joan Guillory, and they were to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on February 24, 2012. Troy"s sole desire was to live until that date, but Marilyn told him that it was close enough since he made it into February. They moved to Irving, and Troy returned to Trinity Industries. After five years, they relocated back to Louisiana where Troy was employed with A.G. McKee Company and his job took them to Greenwich, Connecticut, Mexico City, and Tokyo, Japan. After returning to the Unites States, they moved to White Oak, where they reared their three children and Troy worked for Longview Custom Fabricating and then for Fluor Engineering and Construction. He retired from Fluor after twenty years of service to enjoy the RV lifestyle. He was a member of St. Matthew"s Catholic Church and served as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. He is survived by his loving wife, Marilyn; a daughter, Lisa Joan Sirmans Callens and her husband, Jeff Callens; two sons, Troy Wayne Sirmans, Jr. and Joseph "Scott" Sirmans; 7 grandchildren, Allison Sirmans; Bailee, Jacee, and Brady Callens; Heather, Hailey and Kohl Sirmans; 3 great-granddaughters, Gianna, Landri, and Madeline; 2 sisters and their husbands, Joyce and Jimmy Watson; Jane and Jim Smith; sister-in-law, Joyce McCool Becker; brother-in-law, Richard Paul Guillory and his wife, Andrea; and many nieces and nephews. If so desired, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children"s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105; St. Matthew"s Building Fund, 2800 Pine Tree Road, Longview 75604; or Beacon Hospice, Margaret"s House, 5016 Gilmer Road, Longview 75604. The family extends their heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful doctors and nurses at Beacon Hospice. It takes special people to do this kind of work, and you are all special people.