Tracy Joe Sanders

Tracy Joe Sanders, CPO - Tracy was born on February 25, 1948, in Clarendon, Texas, making him 78 when the Lord took him back to his heavenly home. Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday at Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene. Arrangements were under the care of Edwards Funeral Home.

Service and Duty - Tracy's military career was in the US Navy. He was a Chief Petty Officer and served for twenty- two years, but stopped as he felt his mother needed him - his father had recently passed, and he was so right. He had broken service. He entered the Navy and was sent to Vietnam at the age of nineteen. He was a coxswain on river boats while serving in Vietnam. He served his term and returned to civilian life. After the death of a beloved fifteen-year-old nephew, he searched himself and decided the Navy was really the place for him. He would say, "The Navy likes me and I like the Navy," and he truly did. He returned to the Navy. He had been in around 37 countries, as I remember him saying.

Decorations, medals, badges, and campaign ribbons awarded or authorized: Navy Achievement Medal; Navy Unit Commendation; Meritorious Unit Commendation; Navy "E" Ribbon (2); Third Good Conduct Award for period ending 07 Jan 90; National Defense Service Medal (2); Vietnam Service Medal; Sea Service Deployment Ribbon; Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon; Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal w/Device 60; Expert pistol w/Bronze E.

Tracy came from a loving and supportive family, and he said his mother's prayers kept him alive in Vietnam. Tracy's sense of duty didn't end when his uniform came off- it showed up everywhere he went. Tracy was just a phone call away to help anyone - you'd call, and he was there. He never passed a person in need without stopping to help, be it assistance, money, or food for people who were struggling.

One day this instinct showed itself in dramatic fashion. Tracy and I were driving down a regular street in San Diego, and all of a sudden Tracy stopped the car, slammed it into park, and I saw him jumping a tall fence. I then noticed there was a man in that backyard beating on his wife, and Tracy started hitting him. The cars behind us stopped too - none moved around us - and everyone was clapping when Tracy hopped the fence. However, the beaten woman grabbed her broom and started hitting Tracy over the head with it. He turned around and hopped back over the fence, and all the people in the cars behind were laughing. Sometimes its hard to be a shining knight - but his instinct was right on.

That same instinct to serve carried into how he treated children and young people. Tracy loved children. I've had so many people say how their children don't take to new people, but they were so surprised when they went right up to Tracy and wanted to sit in his lap. While in Adak, Alaska, Tracy was asked to come read to the smaller children in school. Tracy had a beautiful voice and great animation while reading, and the children loved him and asked for him over and over. When we left Adak, they gave him a special farewell and letters from all the children saying how much they loved him.

It wasn't just the little children he helped. Tracy played the drums, so one Christmas the music teacher from the high school came to ask Tracy if he could help one of her students. A young man wanted to play the drums, but there was no one else to teach him, and this young man wasn't ready. Would Tracy help him prepare and play the drums with him? Tracy really worked with him and taught him all he could in such a short time - the Christmas program was a success, and the young man was so happy. Tracy also coached the baseball team, and this in horrific winds, but the kids got to go off the island for games, so it was well worth it.

One of our main blessings on the island was that we were asked to help, as we could, the young - to make special times for young people in the service and children, as this was an isolated duty. Tracy's command was very secretive, and mine was at the Navy hospital. I also transcribed hospital reports, and the psychologist wrote a paper about living in isolation - it really is an awakening. We cooked many dinners for our young military and loved it. We were blessed by friends on the mainland who sent us a smoking oven and others who sent groceries. The island would run out of items so quickly - quite often, if you weren't there on-site at the commissary when fresh food arrived, you were out of luck. We learned that early on. One time my daughter sent us a large box filled with bags of potato chips, as this was Tracy's favorite, and they were always out by the time I got off work.

Family - Those preceding him in death were his father, Sam Aaron Sanders, and his mother, Flora Louise Sanders. He also had seven sisters and seven brothers-in-law precede him in death: Lillian Louise Fowler and husband Jimmy R. Fowler; Ella Oretha Potts and husband Milford James Potts; Neoma Joyce Woodard and husband Raymond (Toby) Woodard; Helen Maric Lindsey and husband Frank Bailey Lindsey; Doris Jean Rice and husband Walter Jarrell Rice; Betty Lou McGuire and husband Charles Douglas McGuire; and Sammie Lee Housden and husband Kenneth Wayne Housden. Also preceding him in death was a daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Castillo. Tracy was blessed by two nephews, James Edward Potts and Perry Joe Potts, who grew up as close to him as brothers but both passed before him.

He is survived and dearly missed by his loving wife of 45 years, Sharon K. Sanders. He is survived by two sisters: Tobytha Jane Wiggins and husband Billy Wiggins of Wheeler, Texas, and Delores Ann Simpson and husband Terry Simpson of Corpus Christi, Texas. He is survived by four stepchildren: Richard L. Hrbacek and wife Donna of Colorado; Jacqueline K. Hrbacek of Texas; Damen R. Hrbacek of Nevada; and Bryce H. Yamauchi and wife Lacy of North Carolina. He is also survived by multiple nieces and nephews, all very dear to him. Tracy had a great- nephew as dear to him as if he were his own son, James Lee Potts - Jamie is the son of Timber Lee and James Edward Potts. He also had two grandsons, Travis M. Hrbacek and Christopher Hrbacek, who lived with us for a while, and Tracy loved them so. We raised show pigs, and Tracy taught both boys to show, and they were excellent at it. What a happy - and let me say interesting - time we had. We have other grandchildren and great-grandchildren we haven't seen as often but love dearly, and we get updated pictures all the time and love to see how they are growing and what fun they are having in life. Tracy loved watching the pictures.

Tracy was blessed by a large, loving, and supportive family. With such a large family, he had many nieces and nephews and adored them all - the more the merrier to Tracy. "Uncle Tracy" were words he loved to hear. There are many names I'm sorry I haven't mentioned here, but he truly loved them all and had a wonderful time with all of them. Tracy used to say I could write a book, not a letter, but it would take a book to write everything. I want you to know, or remember, the special person Tracy was.

Family showed up again once we returned to Hedley, where we were blessed with grandchildren and lots of pigs to raise for them. Travis also showed a steer and won - of course, the mentor and the one for him to look up to as the best at this was James Lee Potts.

Tracy supported me in all I did, and I was blessed in many ways. We were truly opposites but worked well together.

The Outdoor and Animal Life He Loved - Tracy had a dog named Slewfoot when he was young, and while we were in California he saw an advertisement for bloodhounds for sale. He had always wanted a bloodhound, so we chose the one we wanted. If you have ever had a bloodhound, you will understand what I'm about to say. Even as a little one, Tesoro - meaning "treasure" - understood the pecking order. I think Tracy was first and Tesoro second, and of course me last. Not sure, but it seemed like Tesoro was first. Tracy got a bloodhound book, and we learned to give him special foods, and since some bloodhounds have stomach problems, we worried and watched him closely - no problems, though. If Tracy was out to sea, Tesoro would be so mad at me and nip at my heels to let me know. Then, when Tracy came home, Tesoro would be mad at him and try to ignore him, but that wasn't allowed with Tracy. He was so cute when he was little, as his ears were bigger than his body, it seemed, and he would take off running and trip on his ears. As he grew, Tracy trained him for show and won contests in California.

Tracy was getting ready to retire, and I had to be in Texas to take over a house we had bought. I had sold my car to a friend who really wanted and needed it, so just before it was time to be at the house, Tracy took me and Tesoro to his sister Lillian in New Mexico, and she would drive me on to his hometown of Hedley as soon as all the paperwork was ready. Now, our trouble was it was November and cold, and Tesoro had outgrown his doghouse. He was a really smart dog and had a real sense of humor. One of Lillian's daughters said she'd made her dog a house from bales of hay, and it was real nice, so that's what we did - and then we went into the house only to see, out the window, his destruction of it. We had already had to put double locks on the gate, as he could figure out how to take the locks off. We reassembled this hay house a number of times before Lillian said it just wouldn't work, but he had to have protection.

So, we went outside and tried to persuade him to come into the office of Lillian's cotton gin. He would play with us, run ahead, then wait for us to catch up, and run again. Lillian said, "Sharon, I've got this - you open the door to the gin." She stalled running after him, then stopped and started running back toward the gin, and of course this was fun, so Tesoro started running after her. He didn't realize the trap until he hit the door of the gin, and by then he was sliding on the newly painted concrete of the gin floor. Lillian knew someone in town who built doghouses, and he built a larger and finer one than I've ever seen. I don't think Tesoro ever believed he could be outsmarted - Lillian just didn't understand the pecking order. Tracy didn't show him again, because one had to go to Oklahoma City to register and show, and it was just too much driving, but Tracy was so proud of Tesoro.

We had another dog, although Tracy had said no more, as the loss felt too great. However, his good friends Judy and Charlie Orms had bought themselves a new Ridgeback and called us to come see it. When we got there, they had two, and you can imagine how Tracy took to playing with the pups - and then they said one was ours. Oh no, but by then he couldn't let go of it. Franzia was the most beautiful dog ever: a strong, straight back, red-haired, and so unusual. I had never known a Ridgeback. Just a puppy, and not one cry out of her. At first, I told Tracy I thought she was the dog from hell - she chewed up my glasses and shoes, and when I would get upset, she would be so upset too. As I learned later, you just have to be calm with her, she can't stand anger. For her whole life, if she was nervous or upset, she would want to be under or behind my legs, or keep her chin resting on my knee. Tracy, though, was all about fun with her. She really was the smartest dog I've ever known, with such a playful sense of humor.

Tracy had ridden horses all his life and really enjoyed them. We had retired to Texas, but Tracy was looking through the papers and noticed an advertisement for someone needing help closing out his ranch and cattle, and Tracy wanted to check into it. As it turned out, it was Chope Phillips of New Mexico - of the Phillips family, as in Phillips Petroleum. Chope and Virginia Phillips were the nicest people, and we really hit it off with them. Tracy agreed to help him; they were downsizing and would move to the city, where doctors were closer. Tracy enjoyed this time. They had the nicest little cabin for us, so picturesque. They would have liked for us to take over their house and stay on, but we were just learning to see new places.

From there we went to Ruidoso to visit his sister Jean and family. We rented a pretty little A- frame house. One of Tracy's passions was horse racing, and here he got the opportunity to train racing horses at Ruidoso Downs. From there he followed the horses to Sunland Park and so enjoyed his time and newfound company amidst the horse-racing group. Tracy had studied horses and their lineage for years. So you can see, and maybe remember, Some of these episodes with Tracy - he took great pleasure in life, family, and friends.

Tracy loved to fish, and after retirement, once the grandchildren had left home, we would go to Lake Texoma, where Tracy could fish all the time. We had our RV there at the Annex and met some of the nicest and closest friends there. Tracy's family also went there for fishing, so it was a wonderful time - his sisters liked to fish, too, so it was a perfect spot for Tracy. Tracy and friends loved to play golf and even built a golf course around the waters edge; they played at local golf courses as well. We had lots of gatherings for dinner, and of course Tracy loved to cook out - he was certainly in his element there.

Unfortunately, this is where Tracy broke his back, which led to a downhill slide over the next few years. Of course, he had a story to tell about how he broke his back. It could have been a combination of three different incidents, but Tracy picked one incident to elaborate on, as he truly loved to tell a good story. He and his good friend Ross were fishing, and it so happened they caught a really big fish. They managed to get it in the boat and weighed it, but it was trying to tear them and the boat up. It was hilarious, I'm sure, but I'm not the storyteller Tracy was. They say it weighed 100 lbs and fought just as hard as they did. They wanted to get it back in the water, but let's face it - the fish was almost as big as they were. I have a picture of it somewhere, and I'll try to find it. But you can imagine the fun Tracy had telling this story. They did return it to the lake.

His Final Years and Passing - Tracy had surgery but couldn't completely fix his back, as his bones were so weakened from years on Prednisone for rheumatoid arthritis. We moved the RV to Dyess Air Force Base So we could be close to his doctors. He wound up in the hospital from the flu as well, and then bacterial infections began. He was in and out of the hospital all the time, and then it let up for a while, but it came back recently with a vengeance. After he moved home from the hospital on hospice, he had a few great days and loved seeing all the visitors and enjoyed them so - he was really happy, but that went away. He didn't want to die in the hospital, and he didn't. We miss him so, but we're glad the pain was taken away. Our daughter, Jackie, has been the greatest caretaker - Tracy adored her, and she him. She has been a blessing to us both.

My life, of course, will never be the same, but we both trusted in God, and I leave it in His hands.

Tracy Joe Sanders, CPO, passed away on September 6, 2026, at home.

Tracy - I called Tracy ornery and he was ornery but in mostly lovable ways. Let me tell you what he did to a friend one time. Tracy and his good friend, Sam Seagraves, had gone to Vegas to gamble and were returning . They had taken my small car as it got terrific gas mileage. Tracy was getting tired and his brain always ran to amusement to ward that off. The heater on my car came out on the passenger side so Tracy cranked up the heat and kept his arm up against the cold window. Sam started complaining and Tracy would say he was so cold and let him feel his cold arm. Sam would feel bad and say 0k he could make it. Tracy kept this up all the way home. However, they did remain the best of fiends.

Now Tracy's family have loved ones on both sides of the political spectrum. Tracy was Republican and while driving his sisters somewhere and decided he needed amusement to finish the trip he would tease them about politics. So about the time he really had them going he would say oh look we made it home.

Tracy made life long friends and he made them everywhere. Here's another little insight into Tracy. He was really good at playing pool. Had great eyesight and usually won, however, for the life of him he could not bring himself to beat an elderly man. He just blocked out. I would say Tracy that guy might have been a jerk in his younger years but to no avail. Respect was built into him.

One time I went out to sea on a fishing boat for Tracy's Navy friends. Now I don't fish but had taken a book to read. Tracy said let me fix you up a fishing station and you can read here. Then he returned to his buddies. It was really crowded so I moved to the other side of the boat. Not understanding the rules of fishing I didn't realize it was crowded because one only fished from one side of the boat. Now one of the young men helping out on the boat came by and said looks like you caught some and he would take them off for me. He brought it up and there was more line and lots of fish. I said I don't think that's all mine. He said well it's yours now and cut the line. At the same time , on the other side of the boat, Tracy's buddy was yelling he had lost his whole line. Needless to say I took my book and went upstairs to read and Tracy got the fish.

Another time Tracy got the big idea that he could buy a book, l did like to read, and teach me how to read statistics on horses. I think my eyes were twisting before I said too much! I just went by my favorite jockey. We did at times go to breakfast with jockeys and church with jockeys and Tracy loved it all. Now Tracy was not one to want to delve too much into something. He liked things going quick and fast and didn't need too much thought. I however liked character study in movies and liked poetry. However, when something did slow down for him to notice he was really sensitive. I always loved that about him. Odd as it sounds since I was from Oklahoma I did not two step. I was however blessed with sense of rhythm and could follow anyone who also possessed it. Tracy was a great dancer and we enjoyed it so much. Once again of course he loved to go fast and turning but it was such fun. I loved looking straight into his eyes.