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Gifford, Wayne Emerson

December 1, 1918 –
 September 19, 2016

Obituary

Wayne, at the age of 97, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his family, on Monday, September 19th.  He was a beloved husband, father, grandpa, uncle and friend to all who knew him.  A Celebration of his Life will be held Thursday, September 29th at 4:00 in the chapel at First United Methodist Church of Richardson. Wayne was born at home on a farm in Madison County, Iowa, near the town of Lorimor on December 1, 1918 to Vasco and Edna Gifford.  He graduated from West Waterloo High School in 1936, and Iowa State Teacher’s College, now the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa in1941.  He served in the army during World War II in the Pacific theater as an artillery observer.    While on a short leave, he married the love of his life, Phyllis Sherrill, on February 5th, 1944.  He received an Honorable Discharge as Staff Sergeant of the 362nd Field Artillery Battalion in December, 1945.  When he was discharged from the army, he began working for the Internal Revenue Service in Waterloo, Iowa.  In 1957, he was transferred to Omaha, Nebraska as Regional IRS Analyst.  When the IRS office in Omaha was closed, he was transferred to Dallas in 1963.  In 1974, he moved from the IRS to the Department of Energy as audit Director.  He retired in February, 1979.  He and his wife Phyllis began traveling throughout the United States with their travel trailer.  They had fun taking friends and grandchildren with them and enjoyed all the beautiful sights in our great country.  In 1982, he passed the CPA exam, ranking 5th highest score in the state, and began working at Hendricks and Graves Accounting Firm during tax seasons.  He retired from Hendricks and Graves in 1996 and became the volunteer treasurer for the gift shop at Methodist Richardson Medical Center for many years.  He and his wife Phyllis were active members of First United Methodist Church of Richardson since 1963.   They had been married 72 years at the time of his death. He was an ardent Cowboy fan.  He loved to read and work jigsaw puzzles.  Wayne loved his family and was truly a great role model. Wayne was preceded in death by his son, Craig, and his sister, Lucille Wahrenbrock.  He is survived by his wife, Phyllis; daughter and husband, Janet & John Ebey; son and wife, Rex & Pamela Gifford; daughter-in-law, Laurie Gifford, seven grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, please send a memorial to Sol Goldman Pancreatic Research Center:  Ralph H.Hruban, MD, John Hopkins Medical Institution, 600 N. Wolfe St., Carnegie 417, Baltimore, MD 21287 or The Parks Church Melissa, PO Box 33, Melissa, TX 75454. Arrangements are under the direction of ARIA Cremation Service and Funeral Home 19310 Preston Road Dallas, Texas 75252 214-306-6700

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Testimonials

R. Driver
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"Excellent customer service, they made you feel like you were their only customer. Very helpful and explained what we should expect during the process. They basically took care of our needs during this time. They contacted DFW National Cemetery for us which made it a smooth experience. Definitely will use them again."
K. Barker
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"I was amazed how professional the team at Aria Funeral Preston Dallas Texas are. They guided me through the process and my options of their services that they offered for my mother. They are compassionate, caring, calm, good listener, efficient and did an excellent job! Thank you!"
R. Woll
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"If I could give 6 stars I would. Aria made a difficult easier to deal with by basically taking care of everything in an efficient but very empathetic manner. I can speak highly enough of Dusty Martin, who helped us with all of the planning and logistics. He was incredibly understanding and helpful."
Angel M.
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"Nothing prepares you for the grief you go through when losing a child. I called this funeral home at 2:00 am broken and could barely talk. The amount of compassion and empathy they showed me immediately let me know I found the right place to cremate my son. I cannot thank them enough for their professionalism, SINCERE concern, and commitment to making sure my son was honored in the most respectful way. I hope this Funeral home values her as much as my family and I do."
McGee Family
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"Wayne and Staff, thank you for taking care of the arrangements for our mom, Exter McGee and our dad, Philip McGee. You have been great to work with during such a difficult time."
Elledge Family
Elledge Family
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"On behalf of my family, I wanted you to know how much we appreciate your handling of my husband's final arrangements. Wayne Baxter assisted & guided us through the entire process with such care & compassion. Don't know what we would have done without him! Sincerely, Colleen Elledge"
The Peterson Family
The Peterson FamilyYelp! Review - Northwest Highway 5-Stars
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"I can’t say enough about how helpful and professional Dusty Martin, the funeral director at the Aria Cremation location on NW Highway has been. From my initial call, he was kind and informative. My friend died at home while on hospice and she was picked up in about an hour after receiving the call from the hospice nurse. The person who arrived to pick her up was also very professional/respectful and allowed us to take as much time with her as we wished. When I met with Dusty the next day about arrangements, he explained the process and options available without being pushy or trying to “sell” extras. Throughout the process, he kept me informed and, for example, was careful to be certain I understood the cost of the obituary I wanted and offered some options for reducing that cost if I wished. When I stopped by for another reason and started talking about some of the problems I was having with the pictures and media I hoped to use at a memorial lunch I was planning, he not only listened patiently but offered technology advice and let me use his personal media player. I have had experience arranging cremations for four others using two other local companies, and this experience with Dusty at Aria has been by far the best one I have had."
Paula Barnes
Paula BarnesGoogle Review
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"My Daddy’s service and our family experience at Aria Northwest Highway was truly blessed. Funeral Director Dustin Martin is the kind of person that you would like to see on a more regular basis – but in his industry – you hope to not see him that often. That being said – THANK YOU DUSTIN for your unending kindness, compassion and friendship through the process. Meeting you and discussing Dallas History, Find A Grave and my Dad’s lifelong contributions to the great City of Dallas was simply wonderful! In memory of my dad James A. Dodd, Sr. – I want to personally thank you and let you know that you made everything better in that moment. Your calling to “Be There” is spot on. Aria has a one in a million guy in you! Bling Blinky of TEXAS Shout Out: God Bless You!!"
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Preston Road

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“5 Miles East of Hillcrest Memorial Park / Lake Highlands”

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Important Information

  1. If death has occurred and or is imminent, please call the Aria location nearest you.

    PRESTON ROAD
    214.306.6700

    NORTHWEST HIGHWAY
    214.340.8008

    BELTLINE ROAD
    972.607.4400

  2. Click here to Download the Cremation Forms.
  3. Have the cremation authorization form notarized
  4. Fax the forms back to us at:
    • NW Highway
      214-340-8009
    • Preston Rd.
      972-526-7410
    • Belt Line Rd.
      972-573-1008
 

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