Derrell Bearden

    Derrell Keith Bearden, age 84, of Lubbock passed away on January 10, 2022, at home surrounded by his family. 
    Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, January 15, 2022, at the First Baptist Church of Ackerly with Rev. Stan Blevins officiating. Interment will follow at Fairhaven Cemetery in Ackerly.
    The family will receive friends from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm Thursday, January 13, 2022 at Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home.
    Derrell was born on March 11, 1937, in Lamesa, Texas to J.C. and Inez Bearden. He was the oldest of four children. Derrell was raised in Ackerly, Texas where he graduated as an Ackerly Eagle. 
    After graduation he worked in the oil field for a year before he enlisted in the Navy under the “buddy plan.” His six buddies, all from Ackerly, were Alvin Cates, G.S. Ingram, Warren Moore, Jimmy Newsome, and Barney Springfield. While in the Navy, he spent a year on the island of Guam with an airplane crash crew and finished his service aboard an aircraft carrier making cruises to Japan, Hong Hong, Hawaii, and several other places. In 1960 when he was discharged from the Navy, he went to work for the John Deere dealership in Big Spring. 
    On June 1, 1962, Derrell married Sandra Love of Lamesa. In 1965 they moved to Ackerly where Derrell started farming and continued to do so until he retired in 2006. Derrell and Sandra have 2 children, Melinda (Carlos) Rainwater of Southlake, and Leland (Staci) Bearden of Lubbock. Carlos and Melinda have two children Rachel Rainwater of Nashville, Tennessee, and Reagan (Hannah) Rainwater of Fort Worth. Leland and Staci also have two children Bethani and Brennan Bearden of Lubbock.
    Derrell enjoyed traveling across the country watching Leland coach, and then later watching his grandchildren play their sports. He was their biggest fan! When Derrell moved to Lubbock, he often spoke of how he missed sharing stories and coffee with his friends at the cotton gin.
    Derrell is survived by his wife Sandra, his children Melinda (Carlos) Rainwater and Leland (Staci) Bearden, and his grandchildren Rachel Rainwater, Reagan (Hannah) Rainwater, Bethani Bearden, and Brennan Bearden.  Derrell’s surviving siblings include his sister Janice Walton, his brother David Bearden, his brother in-laws Stanley Noll, Raymond Walton; and his sister in-law Rebecca Bearden. 
     He was preceded in death by his father J.C. Bearden, his mother Inez Bearden, and his sister Faye Lynn Noll.
    The family suggests memorials be made to the First Baptist Church of Ackerly or St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
    Arrangements are under the direction of Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home and Crematory. Online condolences may be made at www.npwelch.com   
– Press-Reporter obituary services