Ethel May Dotson McKinney

© Amarillo Globe-News

Nov. 26, 2001

Used With Permission

Ethel May Dotson McKinney, 100, of Amarillo, died Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2001.

Services will be at 4 p.m. today in Memorial Park Funeral Home Chapel, 6969 E. Interstate 40, with Paul Sneed, minister of Central Church of Christ, officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery.

Mrs. McKinney was born March 18, 1901, in a half-dugout in Indian Territory in a community called T-Cross, near Hollis, Okla., on land awarded to her father by the U.S. government as a result of one of the famous Indian Territory Land Runs.

One of seven children born to James Albert and Arabelle Brock Dotson, Ethel lived the first 13 years of her life on this land and then moved with her family to Farwell where she lived for three years. She then moved to Lelia Lake where she met and married a young telegraph operator named Lester McKinney.

They moved to Claude and later moved to several towns on the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad, moving to Amarillo in 1949, where she had lived ever since. During the Amarillo years, she was involved in much community activity.

As a member of the Veterans Association of the Burlington Lines, she served in many capacities, including president in 1954. In 1951, she and two other ladies co-founded the Book Review Club, in which she took an active part until she was 94 years old, serving as officer in most positions on the executive board and as head of many committees and projects.

She frequently served as delegate to the Amarillo Federation of Women's Clubs and did many book reviews. She became a member of Amarillo Republican Women's Club in 1968, where she served as chaplain, bake sale chairman and as a member of many committees and projects. She worked on many campaigns for local, state and national Republican candidates.

She had been an active member of Central Church of Christ since 1949, teaching and serving on many committees and projects since then. After her husband retired from the railroad and went into the insurance business, she acted as his office assistant until his death in 1968.

She had been a member of the Panhandle Heritage Association, a strong supporter of the show "Texas," a patron member of the Amarillo Symphony Association, a member of the Symphony Guild and a supporter of the Amarillo Art Museum.

Her daughter wrote a poem, titled "My Mother", that read: "She gave me life, and she gave me love, and taught me respect of the Lord above. She taught me skills she learned as a child on Indian land where her father filed. A woman's lore she learned from her mother, and passed on to me and many another. Unique and special, imperious and proud, she was never one to be lost in the crowd. With a deep-rooted beauty that defied the years and instinctive bravado that vanquished her fears, she lived through a century of bubbling life, enjoying the good and weathering the strife. The tenor of her life was the love of beauty, eclipsing all else but honor and duty. And now she's gone to a beautiful place where she rests in God's presence, and savors his grace. May she have all the love her heart desires, and bask in the beauty of heavenly spires. May pain and fear be no longer there and let her feel safe in the Father's care."

Survivors include a daughter, Erline Bunten; two granddaughters, Diana Hawks and Francine Fields, both of San Antonio; four great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandchild.

Visitation will be from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. today in the chapel of the funeral home.

The family suggests memorials be to Central Church of Christ Youth Ministries, 1401 S. Monroe; or to High Plains Children's Home, P.O. Box 7448, Amarillo, TX 79118.

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