Jimmy Franklin Lake

Services for Mr. Jimmy Franklin Lake will be held at 10 AM Thursday at Bell-Cypert-Seale Chapel with Reverend Clayton Griggs officiating. The family will have a visitation from 6 to 7 PM Wednesday night at Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.

Mr. Lake passed away on APRIL 30, 2012 at Texas Health HEB Hospital in Hurst Texas.

Jimmy Franklin Lake was born in Lubbock, Texas on the 25th of November 1933 to Frank and Vera (Hargrave) Lake. His early years were spent between Texas and New Mexico with his parents and brothers and sisters. West Texas provided him with his early love of Permian Basin high school football long before the "Friday Night Lights" of today. He also developed a love of music, mostly Country, Texas Swing and Elvis Presley. Jimmy was also developing a sense of adventure and travel and soon found himself at the age of 19 heading to Chennai (Madras), India to work in the international oil fields. For the next 50+ years, Jimmy found himself in all parts of the world, where he met his wife, Olivia Josefina Oyarzun-Marinovich in Punta Arenas, Chile. They married and spent the next 2 decades raising their three children, Jimmy John Lake (51), Ritchie Lee Lake (49) and Sally Ann Lake-Dolejsi (47). They lived in places like Venezuela, Ecuador, Trinidad, Dubai, Singapore, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Kuwait and the UK. Traveling to even more remote countries for vacations. Jimmy exposed his children to other cultures, languages, customs, foods, education and a general love of adventure and fun.

Jimmy and Olivia Lake spent thier "empty nest" years between Venezuela and Snyder from 1985-1995, when Olivia was diagnosed with cancer and passed away here in Snyder. Jimmy continued his work in the oil industry in Venezuela, eventually moving back to the States and working in Montana, Wyoming and Texas.

Jimmy has now come full circle and has returned to West Texas in his last days and will be buried at the Snyder Cemetary joined alongside his beloved wife and best friend, Olivia.

Jimmy Lake was an independent free spirit who valued hard work, the love of his family and a good country song by Merle Haggard or Waylon Jennings. His love of adventure, music and a good story are what he leaves behind to all who loved him and knew him. He was truly one of a kind.

He was preceded in death by his wife Olivia Josefina Oyarzun-Marinovich on May 8, 1995

He is survived by:

Children:
Jimmy John Lake - Hawaii
Ritchie Lee Lake & Roxane - Shepherd Texas
Sally Ann Lake-Dolejsi & David Dolejsi - Ft Worth Texas

Grandchildren:
Alexandra Grace Lake - Hawaii
Skylar Lee Lake - Shepherd Texas
Savannah Dusty Lake - Shepherd Texas

Step Grand Children:
Amanda Nicole Dolejsi - Midland Texas
Dillon Dolejsi - Arlington Texas

Brothers:
Murl Lake - Fresno California
Robert & Ella Lake - Missouri

Sisters:
Joyce & Wayne (deceased) Gentry - Colorado
Ann & Jesse Campbell - Carlsbad, New Mexico
Barbara & Virgil Chester - Irving, Texas
Ruth & Norman Nielsen - California (both deceased)

Brother in Law"s:
Julio & Janet Oyarzun - Argentina
Jose Oyarzun - Chile

Online condolences may be posted at www.bellcypertseale.com