Mr. Bobby E. McKenzie

Funeral services for Mr. Bobby E. McKenzie, 89, of Troup, will be held at 3:00 pm, Saturday, July 8, 2023 in the chapel at Crawford-A. Crim Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Pleasant Hill Cemetery under the direction of Crawford-A. Crim Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm on Saturday at the funeral home. Mr. McKenzie passed away Tuesday, July 4, 2023 at Hospice of East Texas in Tyler. Bobby Earl McKenzie was born April 11, 1934 to William Marshall and Bonnie (Bynum) McKenzie in Grapeland, TX. When Bobby was two he and his mother moved to West Main Street in Henderson to live with His grandparents, James E. and Mattie Virginia (Waggoner) Bynum. They owned 65 acres of land on West Main Street that served as the Henderson Municipal Airport from 1932 until 1947 when the airport moved to its present location. As a youngster growing up, he attended and was baptized at First Baptist Church in Henderson. Bobby graduated from Henderson High School in 1952 and Kilgore College in 1954. He worked for The Henderson Daily News and Safeway Inc. during his high school and college years. When Bobby was young, He enjoyed roping calves and had a horse trailer and a roping horse named Old Ziggs. He was drafted in the United States Army in 1955 and served 18 months in Korea. Upon being Honorably Discharged in 1957, he came home and married his fiancé, Mattie Sue Fountain and began working for Garret Oil Tool in Longview. Bobby and Sue had a daughter, Gloria, and a son, Bobby Jr. and when Gloria was born, she became his special sidekick that went everywhere with him. They will always share a special bond. Bobby loved to hunt and fish with his son, Bobby Jr. Bobby attended the Texas Department of Safety Highway Patrol Academy in 1958 and became a Texas State Trooper. On the day that President John F. Kennedy was shot, Bobby was called to Dallas to be a part of the detail that guarded Governor John Connally at Parkland Hospital. The Governor was also shot. In 1965 he resigned from the D.P.S. and went to work for The United States Postal Service and in 1970 he attended the Postal Inspector's School in Bethesda, Maryland and became an U. S. Postal Inspector until his retirement in 1990. During his tenure as a Postal Inspector, Bobby was stationed several places, including: Atlanta, GA, Pensacola, FL, Tampa, FL, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Tyler. Once he retired, he and Sue moved to Troup Texas and have lived there since 1990 and helped their daughter raise her four children. He enjoyed working with the Troup 4 H Club and FFA and helped his grandchildren raise pigs and calves for the show. He was a Christian and a Baptist. Bobby was a Mason and a member of Clinton Lodge #23 AF&AM in Henderson for over 50 years. Above all else, Bobby loved his family and took care of them as long as he was young enough. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bonnie Bynum McKenzie and William Marshall McKenzie; grandparents, James E. Bynum and Mattie Virginia Waggoner Bynum; and grandson, Christopher Hebert. Survivors include his wife of 66 years, Sue McKenzie; children, Gloria Hebert and husband Russell, Bobby McKenzie Jr. and wife Jackie; granddaughters, Jennifer Dugie and husband Tony, Tess Spann and husband Nathan, Brandy Kenrick and husband Alex, Lauren McKenzie and partner Brad Ingram, Michelle Oechsner and partner Elizabeth; grandsons, John Mulder and wife Danielle, Billy Broughton and wife Shannon, Brian Hebert and wife Lindsey; great grandchildren, McKenzie Dugie, Ryder, Scarlett, Lila, and Ivy Kenrick, Kinleigh, Jaysea, and Autumn Spann, Wyatt and Everly Hebert, Logan and Troy Broughton, Donovan, Michael, Vincent, and Sullivan Ingram; and a host of other family and friends. Pallbearers will be Tony Dugie, Nathan Spann, Brian Hebert, Alex Kenrick, Brad Ingram, and Ryder Kenrick. The family would like to thank Dr. Buzbee and his staff, the staff at Briarcliff and the staff at Hospice of East Texas for all of their dedication and care. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Hospice of East Texas 4111 University Blvd. Tyler, Texas 75701. Words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.crawfordacrim.com.

Mr. Bobby E. McKenzie

April 11, 1934 - July 4, 2023