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Bessett, Walter T.

November 26, 1947 –
 January 20, 2014

Obituary

Walter Thomas Bessett (Tom), 66, passed away Monday, January 20th 2014 after a short battle with brain cancer. He was born to the late Eber and Frances Bessett on Nov. 26, 1947, in Long Beach, CA. Tom graduated from Richardson High School in 1966 and attended North Texas University.  He married Mary (Chuckie) Fultz in 1979 and they lived in Plano before moving to Arlington and then Richardson. Tom was a very caring and giving man always showing up with gifts for your kids and family.  If you ever needed help, he was there.  He was about doing what was right when it came to relationships regardless of the cost to himself.    Tom enjoyed making people laugh.  Humor was how he communicated.  He was always surrounded by his canine friends and was a generous supporter of DFW Rescue Me.  He was a strong family man a member of St Paul the Apostle Parish.  Since being reunited with his childhood church, he never missed a mass. From early on he loved anything with a motor…cars, boats, motorcycles, airplanes, leading him to work in the automotive industry.  He was a serial entrepreneur who had tremendous success in his life and always had a new “deal” to tell you about. Tom was an avid scuba diver and enjoyed vacationing in the Caymans with family and close friends.  His other love was auto racing. Tom is survived by his wife and daughter: Chuckie and Amy Bessett.  He also is survived by grandsons; Russell Hurst and Walter Hencken, as well as great-granddaughter, Zaylie Hurst.  He is preceded in death by his brother Rusty and his son Jay Hurst. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to DFW Rescue Me. Their web address is www.DFWRescueMe.org

A mass will be held in his honor at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Parish located at 720 S. Floyd Road, Richardson, Texas 75080 at 11AM on Saturday, February 1 and a Celebration of Tom’s Life will immediately follow mass.

  Arrangements are under the direction of Aria Cremation Service & Funeral Home 19310 Preston Road, Dallas, Texas 75252 214) 306-6700

    Tracy Roberson
    23 Jan 2014
    5:56pm

    So very sorry for your loss. Prayers sent and hugs to all.

    Vicki Denton
    24 Jan 2014
    1:56pm

    God saw you were getting tired
    and a cure was not to be,
    So He put His arms around you
    and whispered, “Come with me.”
    With tearful eyes we watched you suffer and saw you fade away
    Although we loved you dearly
    We could not make you stay.
    A “golden heart” stopped beating,
    Working hands put to rest,
    God broke our hearts to prove to us,
    He only takes the Best.
    Much love and prayers, Vicki Denton

    Marienne Murphy
    24 Jan 2014
    5:30pm

    Had a good many fun times with you and Chuckie. Good memories!

    Kevin Smith
    25 Jan 2014
    2:32pm

    I will miss dearly miss Tom. He took me under his wing while I was still in college and taught me more than he will ever know. The memories of working at Regency and Legend Conversions are forever in my mind. I still hear the “ooohhh Keveeeee” being yelled from down the hall (He wouldn’t use the intercom) when he had a big project that he knew I wouldn’t be happy about. He had such a great sense of humor. He always had a nickname for you. I always had the deepest respect for Tom. He was one of a kind.

    Peggy Boren Valentine
    26 Jan 2014
    7:52am

    My condolences to the family and friends of Tom, he will be greatly missed.

    Jack and Edie Zehr
    26 Jan 2014
    9:02am

    Tom was one of the most innovative persons I have ever known. So sorry for your loss.

    LaWanda Hetherington
    26 Jan 2014
    10:02am

    Chuckie-all my love to you and your family. Leisa and I have lots of fond memories of our good times here at the lake. Ernie has been gone 4 years, good memories will keep you going.Wish we had kept in touch.

    John Mueller
    26 Jan 2014
    1:57pm

    I was in business in Plano and had a long business relationship with Tom. I was always proud to say he was my friend.

    So Sorry for the loss .

    John Mueller

    Joanne
    26 Jan 2014
    5:19pm

    Sincere condolences to the family. May your warm memories bring you comfort as well as the hope of a future resurrection as promised at Acts 24:15.

    Jeremy Pirotte
    28 Jan 2014
    5:31pm

    Tom was a great man and will be dearly missed.

    Michelle Thomas, CPA
    30 Jan 2014
    11:51am

    I’m so sorry for your loss. I will surely miss “Ole Tom” as he called himself. He was indeed my Favorite customer or as he would say “your favorite pain in the ___!” He was such a jolly person, big kidder, always had a story to tell me. One of my long time clients who had been with me since I opened.
    To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. See you soon Tom.

    The Brodnax Family
    31 Jan 2014
    9:13am

    Words cannot express our love for the entire family. Even though we are not related, we are family. We were so lucky to have the opportunity to have Tom in our lives. We started our mornings with seeing his smiling face. The kids will miss you so much!!! Thank you for taking such great care of us and our dogs. You are truly an angel.

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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."
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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."
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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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