James Long

FORT WORTH -- James Edward Long went to be with his Lord Thursday morning, October 30, 2008, with all his children and his loving wife standing by his bedside. FUNERAL SERVICE: 12:30 p.m. Monday in the chapel of Lucas Funeral Home, 1321 Precinct Line Rd.in Hurst with his son the Rev. Robert Edward Long, officiating. Interment: Following the services Mr. Long will be laid to rest with military honors in the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, Texas. Visitation: The family will receive friends at the funeral home 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday.Memorials: You may honor his memory with a donation to the Alzheimer Association. A native of Fort Worth, Mr. Long, was born on January 22, 1933, the son of A.C. and Mattie Long. He served in the U.S. Army for 4 years before joining the U.S. Postal Service where he was employed for over 40 years. He was the owner of Long's Furniture Service. Mr. Long was a devoted, beloved husband and father who always put his family's well-being first. The head of a close-knit family, he encouraged his children to seek their own paths and always supported them in any choices they made. During any of the usual more difficult times any family faces, he kept morale up with his unfailing sense of humor, a trait passed on to his children. After retirement from the postal service he kept busy with his furniture business and family gatherings. He and his beloved wife, Joyce, enjoyed most of all keeping in close contact with their children and grandchildren, offering the continued comfort of the stable, loving home they had always known. There was always plenty of fun there as well, with either him or one of the children springing a surprise- a talent he had passed on to them. His children cherish those memories of good times with their father and remember the wise council he was always ready to offer. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, stepfather James Wilshire, brothers Bobby and A.C. Long, sisters Joanne Booher, Dorothy Franks and Ester Williams, and a grandson Zachary Bower. SURVIVORS: Wife of 57 years Billie Joyce; daughters- Beverly Jane Donovan and her husband Joe, Barbara Jean Smith and her husband Don and Cynthia Ann Long and her partner Whitney Smith; sons- James Fredrick Long and his wife Mary and Rev. Robert Edward Long and his wife Sherene; 11 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren along with numerous nieces and nephews. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of James Long please visit our Sympathy Store.