Mr. Donald Hotrod McCrary

Donald "Hotrod" McCrary
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KENNEDALE -- Donald "Hotrod" McCrary, 85, passed away late Friday evening, September 23, 2011 surrounded by his entire family.
Service: 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28 at Emerald Hills Funeral Home, 500 Kennedale-Sublett Rd. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 27 at Emerald Hills Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Ranch House Cowboy Church (RCC), 7205 FM66, Maypearl, TX 76064.
Donald was born on June 24, 1926 in Leonard, TX into the family of Earnest and Pearl McCrary. He was the only boy in a family of four sisters and grew up working the family farm. He continued to love farming and ranching throughout his life. He graduated high school in 1943 and left the farm to begin work building planes in Ft. Worth, TX to assist the war effort. After the war, he hitchhiked with a friend to California to work odd jobs, such as, logging. It was in California he bought his first motorcycle of many, an Indian Chief. He returned to TX in 1949. After returning, he met Hazel Margaret Hamaker in Ft. Worth and they began dating. At the same time, he also began working for Texas Electric Service Company where he worked for 38 years. He started as a lineman and left the company as a High Voltage Underground Supervisor. It was at TESCO that he earned the nickname "Hotrod" because of his love of working on old cars, a passion that remained with him his entire life. On May 12, 1950 he and Hazel were married and later had two children, a daughter and a son. They built their first house themselves in Mansfield, TX, but later moved to a larger farm in Venus, TX in 1965. Donald had begun working with horses while living in Mansfield and enjoyed roping and horseback riding for many years. He always had a real passion for all kinds of machinery and over the years purchased many large pieces to use on the farm and even held a patent on a piece of machinery that he designed. He continued tinkering with cars and motorcycles throughout his life. During the years, Donald was a member of Bisbee Baptist Church and Venus Baptist Church where he served as a deacon. In 1987 he retired from TESCO and immediately took his dream trip to Alaska for three months. After returning from Alaska, he decided to begin private high voltage consulting for large corporations such as Alcon Labs. He continued this work until 2005 when he finally "truly" retired. His retirement years have been filled with gardening, traveling, working the farm with his son, raising cattle and goats and enjoying the wildlife in his yard. He was excited to finally see his gas wells finished and begin producing and was enjoying the excitement of all the activity. He has spent his life passionately and fiercely loving his family and friends and following his dreams.
Survivors: Wife of 61 years, Hazel McCrary; daughter, Deborah Jones and husband, Jeff; son Michael McCrary and wife, Irma; grandchildren, Stephanie Brown and husband, Marcus; Celena Woodard; Shawn McCrary, Casey McCrary, Gabriel Cruz and Aaron Cruz; greatgrandchildren, Isaiah, Destiny, Austin, Mallori, Tristan, Aubree, J.D., Holly, Amber, and Michael; sisters, Elloise Miller and Glenna Adams and a host of other relatives and loving friends.

Emerald Hills Funeral Home
Kennedale, 817-572-1681