Obituaries

By CET

SFC Alejandro “Alex” Granado III

CARTHAGE – Mass of Christian burial was celebrated Aug. 10 at St. William of Vercelli Church for Army SFC Alejandro “Alex” Granado, III. He was buried with full military honors in Tatum city cemetery.

Fathers Michael Adams of Carthage and Jesse Arroyave of Tatum concelebrated the funeral liturgy for Granado, 42.

Granado was killed in eastern Afghanistan on Aug. 2 when his patrol vehicle snagged a wire attached to a homemade bomb, according to the Longview News-Journal. Two other Special Forces National Guard soldiers were also killed.

He was born in Cuidad Acuna, Mexico, and moved with his family to Tatum, where he attended local schools. A 1986 graduate of Tatum High School, Granado distinguished himself in the school’s track program, winning a bronze medal at a state meet. He entered the Army at age 18 and served 23 years, including in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and more recently, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

His military awards and decorations include an Army Commendation Medal, Liberation of Kuwait Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and a NATO medal. Granado also earned a combat infantry badge, air assault badge, parachutist badge and the Special Forces tab.

Granado also was a defense contractor with Gould Global in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Surviving are his parents, Alejandro Granado Jr. and Rosalinda Granado of Tatum; sons, Alex Granado IV of Gladewater and Hasson Granado of Tatum; daughter, Amanda Granado of Tatum; brothers, USMC Staff Sgt. José Granado of Tatum and Rolando Granado of Longview; sisters, Dionicia Cruz, Cynthia Granado and Susana Granado, all of Tatum; and two grandchildren. o


Pearl Woods

TEXARKANA – Mass of Christian burial was celebrated Aug. 18 at Sacred Heart Church for Pearl Woods, wife of Deacon Keith Woods, who ministers at Sacred Heart.

Burial was in Holy Cross Cemetery in Texarkana. Bishop Álvaro Corrada, SJ, was main celebrant at the liturgy.

Woods, 89, died Aug. 13 in Texarkana.

She served briefly as a spotter with the U.S. Army during World War II, stationed in Portland, Ore., and Orlando, Fla. A member of Sacred Heart Parish in Texarkana, Woods was a charter member of Altar Society Unit 4.

Surviving are her husband of Wake Village; daughter, Cynthia Ann Spears of Dayton, Ohio; sons, Michael Woods and Kevin Woods of Redwater; a brother, David Rutherford of Richland, W. Va.; and five grandchildren.

Memorials may be to the Tyler diocesan seminarian burse, 1015 ESE Loop 323, Tyler TX 75701-9663. o


Jaimie Kathryn Wies

TYLER – Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Sept. 3 in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for Jaimie Kathryn Wies.

Wies, a 2006 graduate of Bishop T.K. Gorman Catholic High School and parishioner of St. Mary Magdalene Church in Flint, died Aug. 27 in Tyler. She was 22.

She was born June 22, 1987, in Riverside, Calif., to LTC Paul R. Wies, USAF, retired, and COL Karen K. Wies, USAF, retired.

She was a student at Tyler Junior College in Tyler.

Wies was badly injured in a car accident in January, 2005. In a Feb. 18 story in Catholic East Texas, her mother spoke of the role of faith in helping the family through that difficult time.

“These have been difficult times, but I don’t think we could have had a more supportive school, church or hospital community,” said Dr. Karen Wies, a physician at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler.

“As with most trials, our faith has sustained us,” she said.

Surviving are Wies’ parents; a sister, Bridgette Marie Wies; brother, Jonathan Brandon Wies; an aunt, an uncle, and several cousins.

Burial was in the National Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.

The family has asked that memorials be made to the ETMC Foundation, P.O. Box 6400, Tyler, TX, 75711; the Tyler Catholic School Foundation, 3728 Southpark, Tyler, TX, 75703; the Humane Society of East Texas, 1823 CR 386, Tyler, TX, 75708; or St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. o