Bill Hairgrove

September 22, 1926 - July 11, 2020

A private graveside service for Billy Wayne Hairgrove, 93, of Palestine (formerly of Tyler) will be held on Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at 12:00 noon at Restland Cemetery in Tenaha with Dr. Darryle Dunks officiating under the direction of Stewart Family Funeral Home. A public memorial service is planned for a later date to be announced. Mr. Hairgrove passed away Saturday, July 11, 2020 in Tyler. He was born September 22, 1926 in Tenaha to William Council Hairgrove and Julie Rhodes Hairgrove. Bill was a member of Green Acres Baptist Church and was very active in several organizations, the most recent being Volunteer Christian Builders. He graduated from high school in Tenaha, Texas. He served in the U.S. Army and was discharged November 2. 1946. He attended Stephen F. Austin University, ultimately earning a Master’s Degree in Education. He held several positions over the years, some of the most notable being principal at Tenaha High School, Regional Director in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area and later statewide Director of Medical Services for the Texas State Welfare Department, Director of Medical and Medicaid services for the South Region of the U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, from which he retired in 1985. Bill married his spouse of 72 years Claudia R. Watson on June 1st, 1948. They were blessed with three children, Wayne C. Hairgrove, Janice R. Hairgrove and Larry W. Hairgrove. He was preceded in death by his daughter Janice R. Hairgrove in 2010, and by his brothers Eugene (Gene) Hairgrove, Alvin (Al) Hairgrove and Stephen Dale (Dale) Hairgrove. He is survived by his wife Claudia; their two sons, Wayne and his wife Lou Ann of Gordon, Texas, Larry and his wife Geraldine of Grapeland, Texas; and four grandchildren, Katie Hairgrove Peterson and her husband Jeffery Peterson, Benjamin C. Hairgrove and his wife Dana, Laura Hairgrove Randall and her husband Robert C. Randall and Mark D. Hairgrove; and by four great-grandchildren, Logan Jeffery Peterson, Anna Corrine Peterson, Calvin Council Hairgrove and Craig Edward Randall. If desired, memorials may be made to Volunteer Christian Builders, Alzheimer’s Association, 211 Winchester Dr., Tyler, TX 75701 or the Salvation Army, 633 N. Broadway, Tyler, TX 75702.