Mr. James W Tiller

James Weeks Tiller, Sr., 96, of Elysian Fields, Texas, a member of one of the area’s pioneer families, departed this life on March 27, 2016 at his home in Elysian Fields. He was born on November 21, 1919 at the family home on Tiller Road, some 3 miles south of Elysian Fields, the last of 10 children and the youngest son of Albert Carroll Tiller and his wife Malicca Pearl (Weeks) Tiller. James grew up on the family farm fully engaged in all the hard work such a life called for, but in his time and place he also knew the joys and personal freedoms such a life offered. While in later years he occasionally offered glimpses into those long ago days, one clearly filled with hard work and hard times, these moments of sharing were intended to bring home to his descendants that family and faith were the pillars upon which a life well lived is based. After graduation from Elysian Fields High School at age 16, he went to North Texas State Teachers College (now the University of North Texas) where he graduated in 1940 with a B.S. in Business Administration. After working for several years for a retail credit company, he was hired by Atlantic Refining Company of Dallas as an accounting clerk. He was drafted into the United States Army on July 28, 1944 and, after 4 months of basic training, he was sent to the European theater where he was assigned to the Military Government Detachment of the 75th Division. Although he rarely spoke of this time in his life, he was always very proud of his service in that great conflict. He was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant on January 21, 1946 and returned to his former employer, Atlantic Refining, where over the next several years he worked in various locations in Texas and South Louisiana. Never comfortable when far away from his Panola County roots, he quit his job and returned to Elysian Fields in 1949 to take up the life that had been followed by the 3 previous generations of Panola County Tillers –the most noble, but physically difficult and financially unrewarding profession of cotton farming. While boll weevils and drought encouraged him to give up farming after the 1951 crop, his interest never waned in his pastures or his cattle. During this time, on September 23, 1950, he married Margaret Mericle. She was his devoted companion for 50 years. She passed away on April 13, 2000. But even the life of a cattleman, always difficult, was stretched to it limits by the Great Drought of the 1950s. He was appointed the Post Master in Elysian Fields in August 1953, a post he held until his retirement in November 1989. For the next 26 years, he enjoyed to the fullest what he always really wanted to do: work his cows, drive his pastures, go to church and interact with his family. He received the United States Department of Agriculture’s 1994 Conservation Rancher of the Year award for Panola County, and the 2007 Producer of the Year award for Panola County. James was a life-long member of Bethel United Methodist Church in Elysian Fields. He was a Mason for 73 years and achieved the degree of a Master Mason. James was a member of the Waskom Masonic Lodge #1254 A.F. & A.M. and truly lived his life according to the beliefs and values set forth by that organization. James Tiller leaves behind 4 sons: James Weeks Tiller, Jr. and his wife Nancy of New Braunfels; Albert Wayne Tiller and his wife LaVella of Whitehouse; Robert Carroll Tiller and his wife Karen of Elysian Fields; and William Charles Tiller and his wife Elaine also of Elysian Fields; 9 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Confident in his faith, he has gone to his reward. He will be missed by all who knew him well. Funeral services for Mr. Tiller will be 1:00 p.m., Friday, April 1, 2016 at the Hawthorn Funeral Home Chapel in Carthage with Rev. Harold Coburn and Rev. Ken Archer officiating. Burial with Masonic Rites will follow in the Bracken Cemetery under the direction of Hawthorn Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 5-7:00 p.m., Thursday evening at the funeral home. Pallbearers are his 8 grandsons: Sam Tiller, Rick Tiller, Mark Tiller, Rob Tiller, Chris Tiller, Jim Tiller, Josh Tiller and T. J. Tiller. Donations may be made to Bethel Methodist Church, P.O. Box 129, Elysian Fields, Texas 75642, in memory of James W. Tiller, Sr.

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Mr. James W Tiller

November 21, 1919 - March 27, 2016