Danny Hartsell

Funeral services for Danny Hartsell, 81, of Bridgeport, Texas, will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, September 5, 2024, at First United Methodist Church in Decatur, Texas, with burial to follow at Pleasant Grove #3 Cemetery in Chico, Texas. Visitation will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, one hour prior to the service, at the church.

Danny Paul Hartsell was born September 5, 1942, in Decatur, Texas, to Harlan Richard “Pete” and Ora Juanita (Faith) Hartsell and was the oldest of six children. As a teenager, he worked at his Grandad Faith’s dairy and for Cordova Grain. Danny graduated from Chico High School in 1961 and, as a sophomore, was a member of their first football team. He served in the United States Army 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division (Red Warriors) from January 18, 1967, to January 19, 1969, and served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. Shortly after his discharge, he and Darla Duck were married on April 9, 1969, in Chico, and were fortunate enough to share 55 years together. 

Danny worked at Southwest Stone Rock Plant, managing industrial supply stores and completed his career in 2020 as an outside salesman in Texas and Oklahoma. He was also an avid outdoorsman that loved camping, hunting and fishing. In 2018, he discovered his BEES, and it was love at FIRST STING! Even when he could no longer tend to them, he commented daily that he thought about them and wondered what they were doing. 

Danny was often seen pulling a huge 15-foot cooker behind his truck on his way to cook brisket or fry fish for some business, friends, or Butterfield Stage Days; countless people enjoyed his cooking and fellowship over the years. 

Danny is preceded in death by his parents; grandparents, Horace Richard and Lily (Carpenter) Hartsell and Hamp Pit “Daddy H” and Ora Estelle (Denney) Faith; brothers, Lynn and Tim Hartsell and sisters, Jane Cayce and Deanna Wilson.

Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Darla Hartsell of Bridgeport; son, Scott Hartsell of Kyle; daughters, Pilar Hartsell of Crossroads and Neely Berner and husband Woody of Allen; grandchildren, Emily Hartsell of Kyle, Shelby Hartsell of Seattle, Alex Plese and McKenzie Shrum of Denton, Maeve Berner of Portland, and Merryn, Max, and Crosby Berner of Allen; one great-grandson, Aidan Hartsell of Kyle; sister, Debbie Parsons of Decatur; Uncle John and Pat Hartsell of Sherman; sister-in-law Dorothy Hartsell; brother-in-law Ron Wilson; and a host of extended family members and friends.

© (Hudson & Torres Family Funeral Home)

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