Anne Strome
Mrs. Anne Strome, of Burkburnett, Texas, passed away Thursday, January 14, 2021 in Mineral Wells, Texas. Services will be held at 10 AM on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at the First Christian Church in Burkburnett, Texas with the Reverend Christina Haworth officiating. Burial will be in the Highland Cemetery in Iowa Park, Texas, under the direction of Dutton Funeral Home in Iowa Park.
Mrs. Strome was born May 15, 1935 in Iowa Park, Texas, to the late Lloyd D. Lowe and Betty L. (Flippen) Lowe. She was a graduate of Iowa Park High School. She attended Midwestern University on a music/percussion scholarship and was a member of the Midwestern Band, which was at that time the official band of the Governor of Texas. Mrs. Strome graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business education and a minor in English. At Midwestern, she was a member of Tau Beta Sigma, honorary band sorority. She was also a staff writer for the university newspaper and campus literary magazine. She also served on the university Student Council.
She and Lloyd W. Strome were married November 5, 1960 in Altus, Oklahoma. She began her civil service career at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, in 1960, as secretary to the logistics commander of the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile Program. When the program became operational, she transferred to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, where she continued what would be a 32 year career. She worked in the 80th Flying Training Wing’s Academic Training Branch of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program. While at the Wing, she was named employee of the year. She was later promoted as Chief of Media Relations Division in the Office of Public Affairs, coordinating all incoming/outgoing news media via newspaper, television and radio outlets. There, she wrote for the base newspaper, The Sheppard Senator, and contributed stories to the Air Force Times. She once received recognition Air Force wide, by Air Training Command for feature story writing. In 1984, she was promoted to instructor duty in the Aircraft Structural Maintenance course. She retired as a Master Instructor in 1992.
Mrs. Strome had served as a substitute teacher in Burkburnett elementary schools for several years after her retirement. She had also been a guest speaker at the Burkburnett “Little Red School House” each spring. She gave a history to third graders about Samuel Burk Burnett’s son, Thomas L. Burnett, who ran his ranching empire from Iowa Park, Texas. Mrs. Strome’s father was Tom Burnett’s private chauffeur. As a child, she and her parents lived in the servant’s house behind the Tom Burnett mansion in Iowa Park, now the Tom Burnett Memorial Library.
She is survived by a daughter, Sonja A. Shackelford and husband Christopher, and preceded in death by her husband and parents.
Memorials may be made to the First Christian Church, 214 North Ave. D, Burkburnett, TX, 76354. Please share your tributes with the family by visiting www.duttonfuneralhome.com.
