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Obituaries published in the January 2022 edition of the Texas Press Messenger.

DAVE CAMPBELL
Dave Campbell, who spent his life in Waco but whose impact was felt across Texas and beyond, died December 10, 2021, at his home in Waco after a brief illness. He was 96. 
The legendary journalist and founder of Texas Football magazine was a past president of the Football Writers Association of America and the Texas Sports Writers Association. For many years, he was one of five sectional representatives on the Heisman Trophy voting committee. He was a recipient of the Football Writers Association of America Bert McGrane Award for lifetime achievement; the Jake Wade Award; the Lamar Hunt Lifetime Achievement Award; and the Headliners Club Wilbur Evans Award, among others. He was honored as a Baylor Distinguished Alumnus in 1992, and was a member of the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Born March 14, 1925, to George Aubrey Campbell and Minnie Terrell Campbell of Waco, he graduated from La Vega High School and started work the following Monday as a copy boy at the Waco Tribune-Herald. He enrolled at Baylor University and planned to major in chemistry, but quickly learned that time in the lab kept him from watching and playing the sports he loved, and he switched his major to journalism.
During World War II, Dave fought in France and Germany with the 14th Armored Division of the U.S. Army, earning a Bronze Star. After the war, he returned to Baylor and worked nights at the Tribune-Herald. He earned his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in 1950. In 1949, he married Reba Lou Weaver, who also worked at the Tribune-Herald. They were married for 70 years, until her death in 2020.
Dave took over as sports editor of the Tribune-Herald in 1953, a position he would hold for the next 40 years.
In 1959, Dave hatched the idea at his kitchen table for a magazine devoted to football in the Lone Star State. He launched the product in 1960. The magazine was Texas Football. Though he sold the magazine in 1985, he remained the magazine’s editor-in-chief for the remainder of his life.
After retirement, he served as editor-in-chief of the Baylor Bear Insider. A month before his 94th birthday, he published his first book – Dave Campbell’s Favorite Texas College Football Stories. In 2019, Campbell participated in the Texas Press Association Convention and Trade Show, signing copies of his book and visiting with TPA members.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Reba, and his parents. He is survived by two daughters, three grandchildren, one great-grandchild and other relatives.
Funeral services were held Dec. 17 at Austin Avenue United Methodist Church (now First Methodist Downtown). Burial will take place at a later date at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
Memorial donations may be made to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame or to the Dave Campbell Endowed Scholarship in Journalism at the Baylor Line Foundation, P.O. Box 2089, Waco, TX 76703 or by visiting baylorlinefoundation.com.

JOYCE MARIE HATHCOCK
GRAND SALINE – Retired Mineola and Wood County Monitor newspapers publisher Joyce Marie Moore Hathcock died Dec. 18 in Grand Saline. She was 77.
A native of Washington, D.C., her parents were Jack Everett and Lillie Lucille Abbott Moore. She married Larry Gene Hathcock in Dallas on Aug. 16, 1963, and they lived most of their lives in Grand Saline.
She worked for KMOO radio before starting her four-decade career with the Mineola and Wood County Monitor newspapers. She started in advertising sales in 1986, and as ownership changed her duties expanded over the years. In the late 1990s, she was business manager when J. Tom Graham recognized her command of the business side and promoted her to publisher. At one point she oversaw newspapers in Mineola, Quitman, Grand Saline and Lindale.
Hathcock’s work earned the respect of colleagues in the East Texas community newspaper industry. She received the Sam C. Holloway Award from the North and East Texas Press Association in 2008 for her longtime contributions to community newspapers. When she retired in 2019, the walls of her office held more than 30 awards.
She was active in the community as a member of the Mineola Kiwanis Club and the Grand Saline Youth Foundation for many years, as well as being an avid fan of Grand Saline sports.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband of 48 years. Survivors include four children, 13 grandchildren, four great grandchildren and other relatives. Services and burial were held Dec. 22 in Grand Saline.

WAYNE SLATER
Wayne Slater, retired Austin bureau chief for The Dallas Morning News who co-wrote two books about George W. Bush advisor Karl Rove, died Dec. 20 in a car accident near his home in Williamson County. He was 74.
Slater, hired by the News in 1985, became the paper’s Austin bureau chief in late 1987 and served until his retirement in December 2014. He later was an adjunct professor of public affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. Slater co-wrote two books about Rove — Bush’s Brain and The Architect — with former state Capitol TV reporter James Moore.
In 2015, Slater told The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, his hometown newspaper in West Virginia, that the two favorite races he covered for the Dallas newspaper were Ann Richards’ victorious run for governor in 1990 and the following election in 1994 where Bush defeated Richards, the News reported.
“Wayne Slater was a hard-working and insightful reporter,” Bush said in a written statement to The Dallas Morning News. “He understood Texas politics better than most and contributed a lot to his field. Laura and I send our sympathy to Dianne.”
He is survived by his wife Dianne Gluff Slater, a son, three grandchildren and other relatives.
Memorial donations may be made to Canine Companions or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. 
Due to Covid, a memorial celebrating the life of Wayne Slater will take place at a later date. Please check back at www.ramseyfuneral.com for updates.
Due to Covid, a memorial celebrating the life of Wayne Slater will take place at a later date. Please check back at www.ramseyfuneral.com for updates.

BLAKE ALLAN WELLS
STRATFORD – Sherman County Gazette publisher Blake Allan Wells, 35, died Dec. 18 in Bentonville, Ark., from complications of COVID-19.
Wells and his wife Ashley are owners, publishers and editors of the weekly newspaper in Stratford. 
He was known for his expertise and work with digital technology and computers.
In addition to his wife, Wells is survived by five children: Abigail, 13; Trenton, 12; twins Reaha and Rebeka,10; and Amanda, 8, and other relatives.
Services were held Dec. 23 at the First Baptist Church of Boise City, Oklahoma. Memorials may be made to a fund for the family established by the First Baptist Church of Boise City.