JOHN CONRAD MASSEY
1928-2017
John Conrad Massey, the youngest of five children of Samuel Dickey Massey and Minnie Retta Deats, was born on November 25, 1928 in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Milby High School and the University of Houston. He joined the Air Force in December 1950, and received his Wings at Connelly AFB, Waco, in 1952. He was stationed at Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska.
John and Shella Lea Thornton were united in marriage at the First Baptist Church in Abilene, TX on June 26, 1954. Their marriage was blessed with three daughters, Julie, Georgianna and Rhetta.
After John resigned his Air Force commission in 1955, he and Shella moved to Abilene, TX, where he joined Thornton’s Department Store. Beginning in 1968, and over the next twenty years, John was named the manager of several department stores which took the family to such beautiful towns as Twin Falls, ID, Napa, CA, and Grand Junction, CO, in December 1988 John and Shella moved to Houston, where John joined the newly opened Bering’s Home Center. John retired from Bering’s in 2008 on his 80th birthday.
In addition to being a devoted husband and loving father, John was also involved with several civic endeavors, including Rotary, Boy Scouts, and the Twin Falls downtown redevelopment. He and Shella were also involved with their local church. Friends and family describe John as dedicated, hardworking, intelligent, “driven”, but always fair. He was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. He made sure his family knew they were safe, loved, and important, and his and Shella’s 63 year marriage was a love story they shared with the whole family.
John passed away peacefully at home with his beloved Shella and youngest daughter Rhetta by his side, on May 25, 2017. He is preceded in death by his parents, his sisters, Rowena, Elizabeth and Carolyn and his brother, Sam.
He is survived by his wife, Shella, his daughters Julie Ann, her husband Robert Allen Bopp of Carson City, NV, Georgianna Lea, her husband Jack Allen Mullins, of Galveston, TX, and Shella Rhetta Hogan of Yreka, CA. He is also survived by their grandchildren John Robert Bopp and husband Sebastian Arana of Barakaldo, Spain, Sarah Lea and husband Mark Kidd of Houston, Kathryn Dorothy and husband Kyle Hunt and their daughter Eloise of New York City, Emily Ann Mullins and husband Westbrook Weaver of San Diego, CA, Andrea Lynn and husband Robert Strother of Oklahoma City, OK, and Mary Megan Mullins and Ben Friedman of Houston. He is also survived by his sister-inlaw Betty Foy Latimer Massey of Arlington, TX and brotherin-law Arthur Magnuson of Jersey Village, TX as well as many other family members.
The family wishes to express gratitude to Wesley Bromwell and Peggy Fontenette for easing John’s transition from this life to the next.
A celebration of John Massey’s life will be held at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on Saturday, June 17 at 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 5308 Buffalo Speedway, Houston, TX 77005.