John Sullivan Trail Jr. (1913 - 1997)

Born 28 Sep 1913 in Pickering, Louisiana

Husband of Zola Ward Watson — married 28 Feb 1936 in San Saba, Texas

Died 17 Jul 1997 at age 83 in Denison, Grayson Co., Texas

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Biography

This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import.^[1] It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.

Birth

Birth:

Date: 28 SEP 1913

Place: Pickering, Louisiana^[2]

Death

Death:

Date: 17 JUL 1997

Place: Denison, Grayson Co., Texas

Cause: Congestive heart failure

Burial

Burial:

Date: 19 JUL 1997

Place: Denison, Texas, Fairview Cemetery

Graduation

Graduation:

Place: Southern Methodist University

Retirement

Retirement:

Date: 1973

Place: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Occupation

Occupation: Administrator at Gulf Oil Corp.

Religion

Religion: Methodist

Residence

Residence:

Date: 1920

Place: Beaumont Ward 1, Jefferson, Texas^[3]

Note

Note: #H1

Sources

1. ↑ Trail-225 was created by Scott Ledbetter through the import of trail-lassus-Rhoda Elizabeth Gustavus-desc.ged on Apr 7, 2015. This comment and citation can be deleted after the biography has been edited and primary sources are included.
2. ↑ Source: #S46 Page: Louisiana, Record 5453
3. ↑ Source: #S23 Data: Text: Beaumont Ward 1, Jefferson, Texas, ED , roll , page , image 84.

• Source: S23 Author: Ancestry.com Title: 1920 United States Federal Census Publication: Name: Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009; Repository: #R1 NOTESource Medium: Ancestry.com CONT
• Repository: R1 Name: www.ancestry.com Address: E-Mail Address: Phone Number:
• Source: S46 Title: Birth Certificate NOTESource Medium: Official Document CONT

Notes

Note H1John Trail was a well-read person and very knowledgeable about the Bible. He had a deep faith in God that guided his life and his actions. He was interested in the Trail family but knew little since he was on his own since the age of 12. After his mother, Alice Parker Trail, died when he was 5, his father married a woman named Sadie Collier and they lived in Beaumont. They divorced after the birth of their 3rd child, and John Sr. took John, Jr. and they moved into a boarding house in Beaumont. John Sr. took a job on the other side of town so he moved there and left John, Jr., aged 12, at a boarding house by himself. The boarding house closed so John, Jr. took a room at the YMCA and earned his keep by waiting tables at the Y. In recognition that the YMCA took him in, John Jr. continued to support the YMCA financially throughout the rest of his life. John Jr. after high school was offered an appointment to Annapolis, Maryland but decided to take a full scholarship to SMU where he graduated with a degree in finance. Because of this help, he also sent SMU generous checks from time to time. He had several jobs until he ended up at Gulf Oil Corp. where he worked most of his adult life. Dad was in the upper level of management in Gulf until he was asked to transfer to Warren Petroleum in Tulsa, Okla. to represent Gulf's interest there. He did and stayed with Warren until he retired around 1974. He and Mom then moved to Jay, Oklahoma where they lived on Lake Ooche until they moved to Denison, Texas in 1975.

It is interesting that after his death, several of the men that went to high school with me told me of the times that they either worked for Gulf during the summer or were applying for jobs there and my Dad took each of them to lunch during that period. They were very impressed because at that time Dad was in the top tier of Gulf's management team and they thought it was kind and gracious of him to take a young "starter" to lunch. I never knew of this during his lifetime but he was the kindest and most generous of men.

Dad died at home of congestive heart failure. He is still missed and loved.