Claude Morris Brock, 74, of Purmela, passed away June 3, 2009 at his home surrounded by family and friends. Funeral services were held Saturday, June 7, at 2 p.m., in the Riley Funeral Home Chapel, with Phillip Martin officiating. Burial followed in Live Oak Cemetery under the direction of Riley Funeral Home of Hamilton.

Brock was born Jan. 11, 1935, in California, to the late Mr. and Mrs. Joe Franklin and Amanda O. Simmons Brock.

He grew up traveling the U.S. roads with his parents until the family settled in Fort Worth. Brock graduated from technical high school and soon after married his high school sweetheart, Gerry Stanford, on June 21, 1953, in Hamilton.

He and Gerry lived in Fort Worth where they owned upholstery shops in Fort Worth and Killeen. In 1979, they moved to Colorado where Claude managed Loaf-N-Jug convenience store for several years before they returned to Texas to care for their parents. The couple moved onto her family’s homestead in southern Hamilton County where they resided until their final days.

Family members say that he was an amazing man who loved working with his hands. He was an upholsterer by trade and could be found working all hours of the day and through the night in his shop on various projects. After his wife passed away he reconnected with his love of country and western dancing. He loved going to dances and would entertain his family with stories of lady friends fighting for his attention. The one that caught and held his attention was Janet Bland who was with him until the end.

Claude, lovingly known as Papa or Bear, leaves behind many loved ones who grieve his passing and celebrate his homecoming with those that have gone on before him.