Calvin "Cal" Edsel Ebner

Calvin Edsel (Cal) Ebner, was born to Adolph Ebner, Sr. and Mary Emma Hall Ebner on July 19, 1927 in Beaumont, Texas. He was the youngest of four with Alice Margretta Ebner Ramsey, Adolph Ebner, Jr. and Roderick Paul Ebner in that order completing the brood. All of the aforementioned preceded Cal in death just as they had in everything else but on Sunday, August 12, 2018, Cal followed them again.

The “Calvin” and “Edsel” reflected the 1927 birth date. Calvin Coolidge was president and Edsel Ford ran the company that sported his father’s name. After growing up on the farm which was South of Nome, Cal did two years in the army at Los Alamos, New Mexico protecting the facility that produced the atomic bombs where he was exposed to Uranium radiation which may account for some of his later behavior which included three semesters at Texas A@M College (not yet a university) until hormones took over and he succumbed to the advances of Geneva Ann (Ginny) Borque and they were married at Nome, Texas on March 19, 1950. Ginny’s eighteenth birthday was on St. Patrick’s day may have had something to do with the wedding date. Ginny and Cal were blessed with and are survived by Gary Roland Ebner, Sr. and wife Sherrie, Roxanna Marie Ebner Sullivan and husband Mark, Tabor Ethan Ebner and wife Michelle, Keturah Ebner and Kyle Edward Ebner and wife Stacy over a period of twenty years which prompted some acquaintance to remark, “you must be Catholics” but the response was, “No, just passionate Baptist”. Those five blessed Ginny and Cal with twelve grandchildren and those in turn have come up with twenty five great grandchildren (the count continues to change) and one great, great grandchild.

As the grandson of immigrants who came over from Hungary in 1885 (in the words of Grandpa Paul “to keep his sons from having to serve in the Prussian army”) Cal became active in the community affairs after he and Ginny moved to Deweyville in Newton County in June, 1950 and somehow managed to escape being run out of the county despite being a lightening rod over various contentious subjects with the last straw being his election as Republican County Chairman in 1982, as post that he held until resigning in 2012. At the time only Democrats served as local officials. Cal lived to see Newton County become a Republican majority county in 2016 and was a proud “deplorable” who helped elect President Trump. During one of the periods of contention in the early “sixties” Cal was awarded a Ph.D by one of his detractors (a posthole diggers degree). The detractor was assured that Cal was at that time in the process of cornering the marker on used posthole diggers by conning Glenn McCarthy out of one of his dry holes and was all ready to cut it up into two foot lengths. Cal farmed rice, worked in a pipe mill, operated a garage and a heavy equipment business, worked in a shipyard and ended up doing time in a chemical plant for 31 years. To the cogent observer it becomes obvious that with this many endeavors going on, some of them must have been coexistent but when Cal retired at 65 there remained much to do and he remained busy in the community until being forced out of retirement to become interim manager of South Newton Water Supply Corporation which post he filled until his resignation on October 9, 2017.

It goes without saying but it still needs to be said that with five kids there has to be a certain amount of basketball, little league, baseball, boating, fishing, banding (with horns, the kind you blow) and trips to district playoffs and state playoffs. Somewhere in all this there were stints on the Deweyville School Board, the Jasper Newton electric Co-op Board, the South Newton Water Supply Corporation Board, the Newton Central Appraisal District Board and the Sabine River Authority Board. Ginny and Cal were privileged to visit every state but Hawaii and vowed that it would be included just as soon as they completed the bridge. Ginny and Cal joined the First Baptist Church of Deweyville in June of 1950. Cal served as deacon, Sunday School Superintendant, song leader (he couldn’t read a note) teacher of the Ole Fogey’s class and general handyman while Ginny took care of kids (theirs and ours). Their kids served in varying capacities through the years and for the last twenty or so Cal has been the resident curmudgeon. As Cal makes the final departure some will say and not under their breath, “good riddance”. A few will say, “I really miss him”, and will mean it and very shortly he will like so many others be just an afterthought. And the beauty of it all is that none of the immediately preceding has any lasting consequence.

Cal was cremated under the auspices of Dorman Funeral Home in Orange, Texas. There will be no formal memorial service but, family and friends will gather at Dorman Funeral Home on, Saturday, August 18, 2018, from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM, and may tell one another how much they miss him as they view the display of pictures and memorabilia that the kids have prepared. Cal’s ashes will be on hand in a very proper urn and at the time to be determined by the kids will be scattered under the fruit trees and among the bluebonnets on the property where they were all raised, reared or in some manner brought to adulthood.

In Lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a ministry that was dear to Cal's heart called, Mercy Ships. The address is: Mercy Ships, P.O. Box 1930, Garden Valley, Texas. 75771

Cal wrote some poetry. Herewith his last effort:

It's been a long and sometimes arduous trial
But in the end what we've always been taught will prevail.
To wit: that in the end, each one must die.
That's not just a saying but a daily proven fact
That no one questioned but many may act
As though they really haven't figured out why
Such an ending must come to fruition
Every Mother's son must meet that condition
And even though questions are raised and answers needed
There are none that come though hard we've tried
To find one that will make us satisfied
And so we must admit that we have conceded
That all our efforts have been in vain
And each of us must so remain;
Accepting what has determined our fate
Even if we continue to doubt
And hope that what is decreed should not win out;
By then it's over and our feeble efforts are way too late.

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