Received word that fossil passed away this morning. He was a treasure to this board, and a fountain of historical information about our area of Texas and Texas A&M. He will be missed.

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Franklin D. Waddell, Obituary

Lt. Colonel Franklin D. Waddell, ASAF (Ret.) of College Station, TX, passed away in his home on October 25, 2017.

Waddell was born in Roby, Texas on November 19, 1933. He was the son of Fred and Luella Waddell. He was the third of four sons. He was married for 40 years to the former Joan C. Winfree, who preceded him in death. He is survived by their three children, Cyndi, Scott and Shannon; grandchildren, Jay, Shayla, Savannah and Luke and great-grandchildren, Reid and Ryan. He is also survived by his brother, Don Alan, of Roby, Texas as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Franklin was deeply proud of his upbringing in West Texas in Fisher County and of the farm life in which he was raised. His parents were poor, hardworking dry land cotton farmers and life was difficult, but joyful. Surviving the Great Depression depended on all of them and the large extended family that lived around them. He loved his family and treasured especially, his time with his grandfathers, John Waddell and Jack Dyer. These formative years inspired in him a deep respect for hard work and loyalty to his family. He was proud of his brothers and the values they learned on the farm and how they all built on that foundation to achieve their own accomplishments in life.

He attended Texas A&M College. It was a frightening, bewildering experience to be left there far from family. He joined the Corps of Cadets, was a member of the Ross Volunteers and was president of his class. He graduated in 1956. He was a career officer in the Air Force and served in a variety of staff and command positions in the Strategic Air Command, Pacific Air Forces and Air Training Command. He flew fifty-eight combat missions in Southeast Asia. Awards and decorations included Master Navigator rating, Air Medal with six Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with Cluster and Bronze Star.

He retired in 1976 and was excited to return to College Station and where he resided until his death. He served as Vice President for Project Operations of the Texas A&M Research Foundation until 1983. He was president of a family enterprise, Waddell Oilfield Hauling and Service Inc., in Bryan until recently. . He gained fame inside Aggie circles by his prolific writing as Fossil_ag in online TexAgs forums where he contributed a wealth of knowledge on A&M and the history of West Texas.

Franklin was deeply loyal and dedicated to his entire extended family, keeping close ties to all of them. He was especially proud of his children who he believed built on their upbringing to become good, hardworking people. He had unabashed pride in his grandchildren and children who brought tremendous joy into his life.

Franklin took pride in being in the Air Force and all of the places a simple Roby boy went and the things he experienced. Everything goes back to the farm life in Roby: the lessons of hardwork and dedication and pride and loyalty to family drove him his entire life. From that simple background, rose a great man.

A graveside service will be held in the College Station Cemetery on October 30 at 11:00 a.m.

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From the OB thread
RIP sir.
Here

It was a wonderful service today with full USAF Honor Guard and rifle salute.
Perfect eulogy by his nephew. A great honor for a great man.
I enjoyed visiting with folks I'd never met before, and all were welcomed like family.

Rest in eternal peace, Fossil.
You earned the love and respect from all.

Coincidentally, my son is in the same cemetery as Fossil and I'm there visiting often. I check in on him regularly.