The Banner Family of Merkel, Texas

bldarter@gmail.com
1226 FM 126
Merkel, TX 79536
United States
Telephone (325-928-4176)
My Facebook Page

She was the beloved wife of Brad and mother of Barbara Jean. We miss her greatly and always will.

The following is a copy of the obituary that appeared in the Abilene Reporter-News on April 11, 2002.

"Kathryn L. Banner MERKEL -- Kathryn L. Banner, 43, of Merkel, died Thursday, March 28, 2002, in an automobile accident near Fredericksburg. A memorial service will be 2:00 p.m. Saturday, April 13th, 2002 in the Merkel High School Gymnasium with Reverend David Floyd-Harp officiating, directed by Starbuck Funeral Home.

Mrs. Banner was born May 24, 1958, in Corpus Christi to Merlyn and Barbara Genke Stock. She married Bradley Ross Banner, August 18, 1984. Mrs. Banner graduated from Mary Carroll High School in Corpus Christi and from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Veterinary Science and a D.V.M. in 1983. She was a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Kappa Phi, Texas Veterinary Association and past president of Abilene Area American Veterinary Medical Association. Kathryn was one of the first women members of the Merkel Lions Club. She was treasurer for many years. She was a Brownie troop leader and service unit leader of the Trent, Tye and Merkel Girl Scouts. She was PTO treasurer and Just Say No chairman.

Kathryn was a member of the La Leche League, Merkel Chamber of Commerce, where she was awarded Citizen of the Year in 2001, and past president of the Merkel Christmas Club. She was a member of the Merkel First United Methodist Church, former chairman of the Pastor-Parish relations committee, children's Sunday School teacher, active in the Big Country Emmaus community and a Vacation Bible School leader. Kathryn was co- owner of the Merkel Veterinary Clinic.

Survivors include her husband, Brad Banner of Merkel; a daughter, Barbara Jean Banner of Merkel; parents, Merlyn and Barbara Stock of Lockhart; a brother, Stuart Stock of Wilmette, IL; grandmother, Hazel Stock of Minnesota; and in-laws, Babe and Jean Banner of Littlefield. Memorials may be made to the Children's Ministry Fund, First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 426, Merkel, TX 79536."

Barbara Jean was injured in the same accident, but is doing well. She is out of her back brace now.
Thanks to some human angels at the scene she is alive and well. I can't thank them enough. Words also can't express my thanks to all the communities and individuals that supported and continue to support us.

Kathryn was active in the Walk to Emmaus, a Christian program to train lay leaders to be servant leaders in their churches, work, and communities. This is a talk on Christian Action she gave on one of the Walk's she worked. https://members.tripod.com/~BradBanner/christianaction.html

These songs are very special to me. Dan Schutte�s "Here I am Lord"
which reflected Kathryn's attitude toward life and was her favorite song.
In case you don't know the song :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_duU9ABimw - video with the song.

My tribute to Kathryn in music is "Thank you for Giving to the Lord" by Ray Boltz : These are the web sites I found with the song on them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzhFyNp3Ja8 - video

I know that "I am a life that was changed"

Another song I've grown to love is "The Dance" by Garth Brooks. I've learned that many people who have lost loved ones like the song.

There are many listings of the song on the internet. Here are a few.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=773650980

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3674595221543443747

Other good songs are "To Where You Are" peformed by Josh Groban.

http://www.poofcat.com/whereur.html

The song I'm listening to is "I Believe", a beautiful ballad by Diamond Rio. It is on their new album, "Completely". A short clip of the song and the lyrics are available at http://www.diamondrio.com/music/complete/

http://www.princesskatherine.net/riobelieve.html

Another very good song is "I Miss My Friend" by Darryl Worley

http://www.minibite.com/heartache/imissmyfriend.htm

http://www.princesskatherine.net/missfriend.html

A newer great song is "Who You'd Be Today" by Kenny Chesney

http://music.yahoo.com/kenny-chesney/videos/view/who-youd-be-today--24316673

A song with a message that I know Kathryn would send to all her friends and loved ones is "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack.

http://www.poofcat.com/hopeudance.html

I just discoved the late singer Eva Cassidy. This is her recording of "I Know You By Heart" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISipJs6I1w4
Other songs sung by her include Fields of Gold, Songbird, Over The Rainbow, and Danny Boy,

Some books I've found to be very healing and helpful are:

"When There Are No Words: Finding Your Way to Cope With Loss and Grief", Charlie Walton This is the best non-fiction book on grief that I've read.

I found a fantastic novel by William P. Young called "The Shack". I can't recommend it enough.

"Disappointment with God", Philip Yancey

"How to Go on Living When Someone You Love Dies", Therese A. Rando, Ph.D.

"No Time for Goodbyes", Janice Harris Lord and Eugene D. Wheeler

"A Grief Observed", C. S. Lewis

"A Time to Grieve: Meditations for Healing After the Death of a Loved One", Carol Staudacher

"The Special Care Series", Doug Manning

"Children and Grief: When a Parent Dies", J. William Worden

The amazon.com category on grief has many more books, see: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/4610/

The Open Directory Project has many online resources about grief at http://dmoz.org/Health/Mental_Health/Grief,_Loss_and_Bereavement/ and my personal collection there at http://dmoz.org/Bookmarks/B/bldarter/Test/

My personal information - I am a veterinarian who owns a small and large animal practice in Merkel,Texas (near Abilene). Barbara Jean is our 17-yr old bundle of energy & joy. This video is a video slide show of Barbara through the years. The music is her playing piano with the ATSSB Region 16 Honor Band 2012.

My interests include Christianity, Methodism, Walk to Emmaus, parenting, the economic development of Merkel,Texas, veterinary medicine, agriculture in general, Freemasonry, hunting, fishing, Texas A&M university, books and now computers and the internet. The other pages on our website have information and links to the topics mentioned above.

Thanks for stopping by, Brad