Obituaries

Obituaries published in the June 2026 edition of the Texas Press Messenger.

Jill Darden

FORT WORTH - Fort Worth Black News founder Jill Darden, 52, died suddenly April 24 — days before her birthday on May 2, her sister Ginger Darden-Ford confirmed.

Darden founded Fort Worth Black News in 1997 with her mother Chris Lott’s help to write about community leaders and activities without any particular agendas, she previously said. She was 23 at the time and had recently graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Texas at Arlington.

The newspaper operates with monthly editions featuring several guest contributors. For some time, the business ran as a local cable show in Cowtown before it was cast on the now-closed Urban America Television Network in the 2000s.

In recent years, Darden grew Fort Worth Black News’ online presence by using social media to update readers between print editions.

The newspaper’s future is not known at this time, her sister said.

Darden previously served as director of communications for the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce. She was honored with the Media Partnership Award from the Texas Association of African American Chambers of Commerce in 2023.

Beyond her newspaper roles, Darden authored several books, including “The Assignment: Raising a Strong Child.”

Funeral services were held May 9 at Holy Tabernacle Church of God in Christ in Fort Worth.

--Information from The Fort Worth Report article by David Moreno published in The Dallas Morning News May 2.

Rev. Gloria Bonita Guinn Jennings

RUSK - Rev. Gloria Bonita Guinn Jennings, whose newspaper career spanned five decades, died March 26. She was 90.

A native of Rusk, where she graduated high school, Mrs. Jennings attended Lon Morris College and Stephen F. Austin State College. She graduated from the Course of Study at St. Paul’s School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo. in July 2001.

Mrs. Jennings spent more than 50 years in the newspaper business. She was employed at the Rusk Cherokeean in the 1960s and then at the Jacksonville Daily Progress for 13 years prior to returning to the Cherokeean Herald in 1980, where she remained until February 18, 2015.

She was licensed to preach in the United Methodist Church in 1988. She served pastorates at the Pierces Chapel UMC circuit–including Pierce’s Chapel, Dialville, and Mount Selman. She later pastored at Woods in Panola County and Law’s Chapel and Shiloh in Cass County. She also was pastor of the Church Hill Circuit in Rusk County, serving Church Hill, Oak Hill, and Oakland United Methodist churches. After 10 years, she left the Church Hill and Oak Hill churches and remained at Oakland for several years.

Mrs. Jennings was involved in various areas of community life in Rusk and Cherokee County. She served on the Rusk City Council for 14 years. She was a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

She was preceded in death by a son, her parents and two siblings, a nephew and other relatives.

She is survived by a daughter, four grandchildren, six great grandchildren and other relatives.

Memorial service was held April 25 at the First United Methodist Church in Rusk, with burial in the Lynches Chapel Cemetery.

Lilia Castillo Jones

SEGUIN - Lilia Castillo Jones, who had a 35-year career with major newspapers in two states, died April 27. She was 65.

A native of Corpus Christi, she graduated high school in Dallas and went on to the University of Texas at Arlington where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communication (journalism) with a minor in marketing.

For the next 35 years she had a  career in media where she served as national director of The Dallas Morning News, classified director of the Daily Oklahoman, senior vice president of sales and marketing of the San Antonio Express-News, publisher of the Harlingen Valley Star and CEO/president/publisher of the Texas New Mexico Partnership.

Lilia also put her executive skills to good use in the nonprofit sector as the executive director of the Humane Society of Harlingen.

Upon her retirement, she  moved to Seguin where she was needed by her parents and helped them transition through their final years.

She is survived by a son, siblings and other relatives.

Recitation of the Holy Rosary and the Mass of Christian Burial were held May 7 at St. James Catholic Church in Seguin. 

Interment services May 8 in the Lopez Family Cemetery Alice were private.

Molly Sinclair McCartney

MONT BELVIEW – Molly Sinclair McCartney, a longtime journalist and Baytown area native, died April 16 at her home in Mont Belvieu. She was 84.

A native of Goose Creek, she got her start in journalism at The Baytown Sun in 1959. She went on to work as a reporter for six decades at the Houston Post, Atlanta Constitution, Miami Herald and Washington Post, specializing in consumer affairs reporting. She later was a communications staff person at the American Petroleum Institute in Washington.

McCartney co-authored “America’s War Machine: Vested Interests, Endless Conflicts,” completing the work started by her late husband, Chicago Daily News and Knight Ridder Newspaper Washington Correspondent Reporter and Editor James McCartney. The couple married in 1984, and she had two stepchildren Robert McCartney and Sharon Allexsaht. Robert is a retired editor, correspondent and columnist of The Washington Post from 1982 to 2021 –– overlapping with McCartney’s time ending in the 1990s.

An earlier marriage, to William Benjamin Sinclair, ended in divorce.

After writing for the school newspaper at Robert E. Lee High School, she joined The Baytown Sun as a secretary. McCartney quickly rose to the position of Women’s Section editor in 1961. At the time, she attended classes at University of Houston and Lee College, earning a certificate for photography and graphic arts.

During her career McCartney covered several social movements, including the women’s journalism movement in the 1960s and early 1970s. She interviewed feminist, journalist and activist Gloria Steinem and  Betty Friedan, author of “The Feminine Mystique.”

While working at The Houston Post, McCartney covered federal courts, county government and authored a seven-part series exposing the inaccuracies and inequities in the tax roll for the Spring Independent School District. The 1966 series led to the defeat of two school board incumbents, including the board president.

As a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University from 1977 to 1978, McCartney concentrated her research on business regulation and international affairs.

McCartney earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Georgetown University and graduated magna cum laude in 1986 – all while working full time at the Post.

At the Washington Post, she wrote articles about the spread of the consumer movement, including many about soaring inflation that plagued the economy.

During her time working for The Miami Herald, McCartney covered the worker rights movement of electric utility companies in Florida. She also followed a movement by deaf students at Gallaudet University, a school for the Deaf. 

After her retirement, McCartney continued writing freelance articles for The Sun. One, looking back at how the local Exxon refinery produced high-grade aviation fuel in WWII, was published in January 2025.

McCartney is survived by a daughter, granddaughter and two great grandchildren, two stepchildren and other relatives.