Dan P. Lea

Dan Preston Lea, 86, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Funeral: 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 17, at Wade Family Funeral Home, 4140 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington. Interment: Moore Memorial Gardens, Arlington. Visitation: 3-5 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at the funeral home. Memorials: Memorial gifts may be made to Mission Metroplex, 817-277-6620. Dan was born near Chickasha, Oklahoma on September 12, 1930 to Frank Lea and Vera Holcomb Lea. The family farmed and ran a dairy there until his older brothers entered the service in WWII. Dan attended Cameron College and Oklahoma Baptist University. Feeling the call to serve God, he graduated from Southwestern Seminary and became a pastor. Later, Dan entered the Fort Worth School System. While teaching, Dan completed a Masters of School Administration at TCU. At the same time, he helped write curriculum materials for the upper elementary grades. In 1965, he was chosen to represent Jim Wright's district on the State Textbook Committee. The following year he became a school Principal. For the next 20 years, Dan served the children of Fort Worth with distinction, providing leadership at elementary schools across the city. He retired in 1986. Dan married Dorothy Gilley in 1974. From then until the end of her life in 2006, they traveled all over the world. Dan became a Christian at age ten and was active in the Baptist church the rest of his life. They joined First Baptist Church in Arlington in 1989 where they were both very active members, with Dan serving for years as a Deacon. Dan loved to fish and always had a garden. His friends and neighbors enjoyed the fruits of his labors. Survivors: Dan is survived by stepchildren, Roger Gilley and wife, Jennifer, and Linda Cheek; grandson, Travis Cheek; sisters-in-law, Shirley Lea, Juanita Lea and Barbara Rever; nieces, Martha King and husband, Mac, and Lorraine Baugh. Wade Family Funeral Home (817) 274-9233