Deanna Lou (Hatley) Hargis

Deanna Lou Hatley was born January 23, 1938 in Borger, Texas, to Alvin “Jug” and Lela Hatley. She married Jackie Larry Bales in 1961 and had three children. She met Jackie at a teenage dance the last week of high school and said it was love at first sight.

After Jackie passed, she married William Leslie Hargis who helped her love and raise her three children and delighted in catching her off guard with surprise birthday parties.

Deanna felt very fortunate to have had the parents she did and to have grown up in Phillips, Texas. She loved all of her friends like family and they loved her. She recently wrote in her journal, “My family, my old friends from childhood, my old friends and my new friends from Brookdale,” where she lived for the past seven years, “bring me lots of happiness. Their friendship and love for the Lord make me a happy person.” One of her favorite things about Brookdale was the Flex Your Brain class she participated in twice a week. She was deeply grateful for her Brookdale family, which included workers and friends.

Deanna enjoyed sending cards and letters to her loved ones. She cherished every one she received in return and would pull them out frequently to read again. She was also a big fan of Elvis Presley and played his music often.

She loved to laugh and was rarely seen without a smile. She embodied the slogan from her Phillips High School graduating class, “Strong as nails, Tough as bricks, Senior class of '56.” She always loved her Phillips Blackhawks and looked forward to the annual homecoming celebrations. She even attended a homecoming event just weeks before her passing.

Deanna attended West Texas State University where she was a charter member of Chi Omega. She transferred and graduated from North Texas State University. She was an avid reader and loved to play games, especially bridge. She was always ready and willing to go on a trip, and she took pride in being a good driver and traveling most of the country by car. She completed her bucket list dream of visiting all fifty states and even traveled to Mexico, Canada, and England.

Deanna was preceded in death by her first husband, Jackie Larry Bales, her parents, Jug Hatley and Lela Hatley, one son, Jack Gregory Hargis, her brother, Mark Hatley, her husband, William Leslie Hargis, and a nephew, Mark Smith.

Deanna is survived by her daughter, Whitney Geerdes and husband, David, a son Barry Hargis, four grandsons, Matthew Schmitto and wife, Melanie, Nicholas Schmitto, Brandon Hargis and fiancé, Haley Graybill and Brett Hargis, one great grandson, Sawyer Schmitto, her sister, Janet Smith, her sister in law, Claudia Hatley, a nephew, Michael Smith and wife, Gina , and two nieces, Stacey Smith and Eliza Wilkerson and husband, Jason.

A memorial service for Deanna will be held Friday, November 4, 2022 at 2:00 PM at Memorial Park Funeral Home, 6969 East Interstate 40, Amarillo, Texas 79118. Following the memorial service will be a graveside service at 3:00 PM at Memorial Park Cemetery, 6969 East Interstate 40, Amarillo, Texas 79118.

Serving as pallbearers are Brandon Hargis, Brett Hargis, Matthew Schmitto and Nicholas Schmitto.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.memorialparkamarillo.com for the Hargis family.