Neva Bufkin

We are the sons of a Texas woman. Women in Texas are born as a special breed into this world. They inherit a surplus of the unique traits that make women ladies. Anyone whose been loved by a girl from Texas realizes that the love given is a strong one. Texas women that are touched by the love of Christ become creatures that are no longer of this world. We"ve been blessed to know this our whole life.

On July 29, 1940, Neva Jo Shannon was born a Texas woman in Wichita Falls, Texas to Robert and Johnnie Shannon. She was the eldest girl of five children in the family. Robert Shannon was a tool pusher during the years that the West Texas oilfields were discovered and built. Robert"s occupation required a nomadic lifestyle for his family which built courage, strength, and faith in Neva. She attended seventeen different schools during her primary and secondary schooling ending up at Andrews High School in Andrews, Texas. God had special plans for this young lady.

Neva arrived in Andrews, Texas as a blue-eyed brunette beauty full of grace. It was here where God planned to begin the blossom of her love. Larry Bruce Bufkin was blessed as the focus of the love God had placed in her Texas soul. After a storybook courtship of an athlete and pretty girl, the two were married at age eighteen on July 30, 1958. It was within the courtship and marriage of this couple that the love of Christ began its synergy with this woman"s love. They established the concrete foundation of their family upon the cornerstone of Christ. Her husband and friends recognized she was a foreigner in this world, one possessed with faith and virtue that shone brightly.

Neva gave birth to us two sons within a family that was anchored on the love of this Christian woman.
I, Brad, am the elder and I, Shelby, am the younger of us. We were blessed to be born Texans, but our mother gave us the greatest gift in this world by introducing us to Jesus Christ and that has made all the difference in each of our lives. We have first-hand knowledge of a woman that was the loving wife, friend, and partner of our father. He was drawn to the presence of God within our mother and was a required ingredient for her remarkable life and her tremendous capacity for possessing God"s love. We"ve witnessed their friend"s, our friend"s, our wives", and our children"s lives changed by the selfless love that God grew within our mother.

We have witnessed the strength of God"s grace under pressure within the last two years of our mother"s life. She was given a thorn in the side in the form of pulmonary fibrosis. A thorn whose sting is felt with every breath. God was displayed in her suffering. She reflected the presence of God given to her through Christ her Saviour in her consistent daily life throughout her struggle. She remained selfless and committed to servant-hood doing for others until she could no longer do for herself. God called her home from this life November 15, 2010. She reluctantly left our father, us, and our families to be with her Maker where we know there is a joyous celebration. In what was an especially dark time; faith and hope were displayed in full by her, and love was abundant.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13

Rest in peace Mom.





Mrs. Neva Bufkin age 70 of Snyder passed away Monday November 15, 2010. Funeral services will be at 2:00 PM Thursday November 18, 2010 at First Baptist Church in Snyder. Reverend Clayton Griggs
will officiate. Burial will be at Hillside Memorial Gardens under the direction of Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.

Neva was born July 29, 1940 in Wichita Falls, Texas. She married Larry Bruce Bufkin July 30, 1958 in Andrews, Texas. They moved to Snyder in 1982 after living 12 years in Pecos, Texas. She was a retired executive secretary for the chief