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Thomas Cade "T.C." Stephens (1924 - 2011)
By F.E. Abernethy

Wade Morris used to have fish fries in his back yard every couple of months. These were mini-Nacogdoches High School reunions. Rayford Wilson, Sport Buckner, Jim Wilson, Skeeter Schmidt, and Ed Gaston were among the regulars. Travis Helpinstell showed up one evening, and John "Bubba" Wilson came up from Houston once for a fish fry. We always had some drop-ins who knew that they came to the right place to reminisce about times "back before The War" and NHS. Whoever made up the diners at Wade's soirees, there was always one more schoolmate who was among us. That was Thomas Cade Stephens, known as T.C., among his other nicknames. Never a fish fry passed that T.C.'s name did not come up as the actor and participant in the adventures of "the old days." Somebody brought up that we ought to have a statue of T.C. in front of our fish-fry shed, since he was the most famous - or at least, the most discussed - among us.

T.C. was not only notorious for periodic altercations and other campus activities, he was also the town and campus hero of the 1942 football season, a year that Nacogdoches beat Lufkin. T.C. threw the pass that "Rugged" Walters caught for a touchdown, and T.C. kicked the extra point that won that 7-6 football game. He earned fame enough to last a lifetime with that game.
He joined the Army after high school, fought valiantly in the tank corps in the Rhineland Campaign, and was wounded home from the Battle of the Bulge.

After the war, T.C. returned to the Stephen F. Austin State University campus on the GI Bill, married Jaunice Corder, and earned a master's degree. He taught school and was an administrator for years, became involved in law enforcement work, and in 1961 moved to Jackson, Wyoming, (because he loved to hunt and fish) where he served as the town marshal, raised horses, led the singing and acted in the Jackson Hole Summer Shootout.

"Big Stephe" grew a great beard, wore mountain-man clothes, and soon became a Jackson "character." Film crews cast him, artists painted his picture, and magazines told his life story.
This old Nacogdoches boy became famous, in his part of the world.
The last time I saw T. C., he was home for a visit and walking down Main Street in full regalia, fringed buckskin jacket and all. I knew who he was, right off. He said that he remembered me, after I told him who I was. We visited for a while, and he explained that what he wore was his normal attire in Jackson.

He recognized and enjoyed the fact that he had turned a few heads on downtown Main Street. T.C. said he was glad to be back in Nacogdoches, but to my knowledge he never returned.
I don't guess he will now. Thomas Cade Stephens died March 13, 2011, in Jackson, Wyoming.

Thomas Cade Stephens was born June 9,1924, in Nacogdoches County to Everett Leonard and Nettie Cade Stephens. He married Jaunice Corder March 16, 1947, while both of them attended Stephen F. Austin State College.

T.C. is survived by sons Jahton Thomas Stephens and Lephen Corder Stephens and their families, both sons born during their SFA days in Nacogdoches.

A memorial service was held July 8, 2011, Jackson for Thomas Cade Stephens. Big Stephe, among his other nicknames, will get a big kick out of all that attention. He never minded being noticed.
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NHS Alumni Association : Remembering Buck Fausett
By PEGGY A. JASSO -Class '67

On Saturday, May 28, 2011, the Nacogdoches High School Alumni Association "NHSAA" lost a great friend and supporter - Cleon "Buck" Fausett. Buck was a true patriot of our country and will be missed by many.

I met Buck in 2004, when I was elected to the NHSAA board.

At first I was taken aback by his rough sailor talk and gruff manner, but soon came to love this aging veteran. I spent many hours with him talking about old times and the war, and soon learned that Buck had a heart of gold and a great concern for those less fortunate. Other than his family, his passions in life were working, his high school football days, his war years and scholarships for Nacogdoches High School students.

Buck, at an early age, learned the value of hard work. His first job, at age 8, was delivering papers for the Houston Chronicle.

His daily routine included getting up at midnight and riding his bike from Frost Mill to downtown Nacogdoches where he met his boss. They then drove to Cleveland, Texas, to pick up the newspapers. While driving back, Buck rolled the papers and prepared them for delivery. When they arrived in Nacogdoches, he got on his bicycle and threw the papers before going to school. He attended Nacogdoches schools and in 1944 graduated from NHS where he was on the 1941-1943 football teams. In an article written by Edwin Gaston Jr. in the 1943 Book N about the Dragons loss to Lufkin, Gaston wrote, "Fausett played good ball, and it was Fausett's spirited last play that stood out and that earned him hats off from this scribe." It is these memories that Buck carried with him for the next 67 years, and that nourished his need to help NHS students further their education.

In July, 1944, just after graduating from high school, Buck entered the U.S. Navy where he attained the rank of seaman first-class, gunner's mate. He spent the next two years in the Pacific and could remember every man and every battle he experienced.

After discharge in 1946, he came home and married Bette Jo Murdock, and they raised three children: Marvin, Jerry Don and Anita. Buck was a good salesman with a natural talent to persuade people. He worked for Lone Star for many years and was instrumental in growing the poultry industry in Nacogdoches and surrounding counties.

In the late '90s, Joyce Swearingen nominated Buck for the board of directors of NHSAA.

Buck brought his sales experience to NHSAA, and all his efforts were focused on raising money for scholarships. He also helped in the creation of the alumni brick plaza at the high school, and many of his ideas are incorporated in its layout. Dick Voigtel, a close friend, fondly remembers laying bricks with Buck, but laughing as he also remembers "doing all the work while Buck sat on the tailgate of the truck telling football and war stories." Another of his projects was the annual NHSAA golf tournament. I am sure many of our local businesses remember him walking in with a hole sponsorship sign in-hand asking for their support of the annual tournament. It seems that every friend who knew him remembers him with a smile. One such alumni friend is Milton Pitts who said "Buck was one of a kind."

The last time I visited with Buck was at the hospital about a week before he passed. That day he relayed one story after another about his wife, his family, his days playing football at NHS, and about the old "rag-tag" naval vessel he was on during World War II. The ship was the USS LST-747, a tank-landing ship assigned to the Asian-Pacific Theater during World War II; he earned two battle stars.

I will cherish those memories with a smile every time I think of Buck.

Buck has been responsible for generating numerous fully endowed scholarships for NHSAA. If you would like to continue Buck's legacy, memorial donations can be made to the NHSAA - Buck Fausett Scholarship. Send donations to NHSAA, P.O. Box 632152, Nacogdoches, Texas, 76963-2152.

On behalf of the board members past and present of the NHSAA, we salute you, Buck Fausett, for all of the support and kindness you've shown to the graduates of NHS for many years. 
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