Ivy Dean Lovelady, 75, of Chandler passed away Oct. 15 in Tyler.
Ivy Dean was born Feb. 18, 1938, in Dangerfield, Texas to Ivy and Mary Kersey Lovelady.
He was a farmer by trade and a strong man. Hands so strong he could lift an irrigation motor and a riding lawn mower by himself. Hand so big it seemed as if I were shaking a loaf of bread. His posture demanded respect wherever he went without need to speak a single word. He was a farmer, father, brother, uncle and a grandpa. But most of all, he was a strong man. He didn’t change who he was to please others. If you didn’t “like it,” it didn’t bother him – although you didn’t want to be the one to bother this mountain of a man. He gave his children the backbone they needed. Very rarely did you see his soft heart, but if you did, you would be se it crystal clear.
Mr. Lovelady is survived by his children, David Lovelady, Tonda Lovelady, Joy Neal; brothers and sister, Faye Lindsey, Decatur, Texas, Billy Lovelady, Rusk, Texas, and Roy Lovelady, Farwell, Texas. His legacy continues with six grandchildren, Bobby Lovelady, Dwayne Lovelady, Jimmy Lovelady, Gary Wilson, Misty Rangel, Christian Fitzgerald and nine great-grandchildren.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Ivy and Mary Lovelady; brothers and sisters, Dorothy Crump, Eugene Strawn, Inez Foley, Ola Mae Isaacs, Charles Lovelady, and Troy Lovelady.
Visitation for Mr. Lovelady will be Thursday, Oct. 17, from 6-8 p.m. at the United Pentecostal Church in Athens. Service will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at the church with Bro. Grissom officiating. Service is under the direction of Huckabee-Tomlinson Funeral Home.
Interment will be in the Trinidad Cemetery, Trinidad.
Online condolences can be made at www.tomlinsonfuneral.com.