Theil Dane Shastid

Funeral services for Theil Dane Shastid, 87, of Edgewood, are scheduled for 2:00 PM, Saturday, February 17, 2018, at Russell Memorial United Methodist Church in Wills Point. Services are under the direction of Hiett’s LyBrand Funeral Home.

Theil passed away February 11, 2018, at the VA Nursing Home in Bonham, TX.

Theil Dane Shastid was born December 5, 1930, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to the late Robert Lee Shastid and Nellie Grace Villines Shastid. He was the youngest of six children.  When he was three months old his family moved to Houston.  He was reared in the Methodist Church and his maternal grandfather was a Methodist Circuit preacher.  Following his graduation from Milby High School, Theil worked as a carman maintenance apprentice.  It involved drafting and mechanical engineering training.  He was in the United States Navy during the Korean Conflict.

 He attended college on the GI bill and supplemented his income during these years by working for his brothers' furniture manufacturing company.   Theil attended the University of Houston and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1955 and a Master of Education Degree in 1963.  He was awarded an NDEA Grant in reading at Sacramento State College in California and a Texas Congress of Parents and Teachers Career Teacher Scholarship Grant.  He attended an Advanced Study Institute for Reading in 1965. 

Theil taught in elementary schools from 1956 until 1965, and was an elementary school principal from 1965 until 1984.  During his years as principal, he aided in designing, staffing and operating two new school buildings.  Additionally, he organized the first magnet school for the gifted in the Houston Independent School District.  In 1985, he served as attendance officer for the Spring Independent School District and increased attendance by over 44 percent.  He has taught 5th and 6th grades, Art for 3rd through 8th grades, Rocketry, civil defense, defensive driving, and Sunday school.  He took flying lessons and completed his first solo flight in 1965.

Theil married Argie Marie McClellan June 5th, 1953, in Houston.  They are the proud parents of their children, Alan, Lee and Landis.  They moved to Edgewood in 1989 to make their home.

He is preceded in death by his parents, as well as four brothers and one sister.

He is survived by his wife, Marie Shastid of Edgewood; sons, Alan Shastid and wife Nancy of Denton, and Lee Shastid and wife Valerie of Tyler; daughter, Landis Gurney and husband Larry of Plantersville; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 6:00-8:00 PM, Friday evening at Hiett’s LyBrand Funeral Home in Wills Point. 

If you wish to make a donation, the family would appreciate donations in memory of Theil to:

Sam Rayburn VA- ATTN: Volunteer Services: 1201 E. 9th St., Bonham, TX 75418

Russell Memorial United Methodist Church: 201 S. 4th St., Wills Point, TX 75169

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Theil Dane Shastid, please visit our floral store.