Wacker, Jim, 66; colorful former football coach at Texas Christian University and Southwest Texas State University; in San Marcos, Aug. 26, 2003.

Wade, David, 77; nationally-known food writer and broadcast personality; in Tyler, March 20, 2001.

Henry Wade.

Wade, Henry, 86; served as district attorney of Dallas (1951 to 1986), including the murder trial of Jack Ruby and the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion case; compiled one of the nation’s highest conviction rates; in Dallas, March 1, 2001.

Wagner, Helen, 91; Lubbock native played mild-mannered Nancy Hughes on the soap opera As the World Turns for more than 50 years; in Mount Kisco, N.Y., May 1, 2010.

Walker, Billy, 77; Ralls native and Grand Ole Opry star sang “Cross the Brazos at Waco” and “Charlie’s Shoes”; in an accident on an Alabama interstate along with his wife and two band members, May 21, 2006.

Walker, Charlie, 81; Grand Ole Opry member and well-known disc jockey at KMAC in San Antonio starting in 1951, born in Copeville, had singing hit “Pick Me Up on Your Way Down;” in Hendersonville, Tenn., Sept. 12, 2008.

Walker, Cindy, 87; Mexia resident wrote classic country songs, such as “You Don’t Know Me,” and “Bubbles in My Beer,” and pop songs, including “Dream Baby” for Roy Orbison; in Waco, March 23, 2006.

Walker, Doak, 71; Heisman Trophy winner who propelled Southern Methodist University football into the national spotlight in the 1940s; in Steamboat Springs, Colo., Sept. 27, 1998.

Wallace, Mack, 73; former Railroad Commission chairman, Athens native was legal counsel to Gov. Dolph Briscoe; in Dallas, June 28, 2003.

Walls, B. Carmage, 90; newspaper entrepreneur who ended racial discrimination practices in his Southern papers; in Houston, Nov. 22, 1998.

Walser, Don, 72; country singer out of Brownfield and Lamesa whose yodel earned him the label “Pavarotti of the Plains”; in Austin, Sept. 20, 2006.

Ware, Browning, 73; for 20 years, beginning in 1976, pastor of First Baptist Church in Austin, community and ecumenical leader; in Austin, Oct. 29, 2002.

Warnock, Barton H., 87; Trans-Pecos icon and leading authority on the botany of the Big Bend and the Chihuahuan Desert; in Alpine, June 9, 1998.

Watkins, Ross C., 81; regent for Texas A&M; innovative bridge builder who constructed two international spans over the Rio Grande; in Uvalde, May 29, 2001.

Watson, Johnny “Guitar,” 61; rhythm and blues musician; Houston native’s recordings included "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”; on tour in Japan, May 17, 1996.

Watson, Willard, 73; one of the region’s leading folk artists; in Dallas, June 12, 1995.

Weber, David J., 69; historian of the Southwest who focused on the relationship between Mexico and the United States, professor at SMU in Dallas; in Gallup, N.M., Aug. 20, 2010.

Weirus, Richard “Buck,” 76; headed Texas A&M University former students association from 1964 to 1979; in College Station, May 8, 1997.

Welch, June Rayfield, 70; former chairman of the history department at the University of Dallas who was widely known for his Texas history radio shows; in Dallas, Sept. 2, 1998.

Welch, Louie, 89; five-term mayor of Houston from 1963 to 1973 after four terms on the city council beginning in 1949, led city’s chamber of commerce after leaving political office; in Houston, Jan. 27, 2008.

Wells, Henrietta Bell, 96; only female member of the 1930 Wiley College team that took part in the first interracial collegiate debate; Houston native later taught in public schools and served as dean of women at Dillard University; in Baytown, Feb. 27, 2008.

Wells, Marshall F., 78; served 37 years as grants coordinator for Houston Endowment, the charitable trust; in Houston, Nov. 5, 1996.

Wenglein, George Herman, 88; CEO and chairman of Luby's Cafeterias from 1972 to 1988 when the company made Forbes list of 200 Best Small Companies; in San Antonio, April 12, 2005.

Wentworth, Margaret Stafford, 75; leader of the Republican Party in Bexar County; in San Antonio, May 2, 1996.

West, Buddy, 71; eight-term legislator from Odessa, supported UT-Permian Basin and Presidential Museum there; in Odessa, June 25, 2008.

West, James T., 86; Corsicana native was former co-owner and president of Wolf Brand Chili and son of the founder; in Dallas, Aug. 14, 2002.

West, Mary Nan, 75; South Texas rancher and civic leader who steered the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo for nearly 20 years; chaired Texas A&M University board of regents; in San Antonio, Jan. 1, 2001.

Westmoreland, Harry Lee Jr., 65; inventor of a portable drilling rig that could be carried in a pickup; founder of a charity to provide safe drinking water to Third World countries; in Sugar Land, Feb. 16, 2007.

Wheeler, John A., 96; nuclear physicist taught at UT-Austin from 1976 to 1986, involved in Manhattan Project, coined term “black hole” in 1967; in New Jersey, April 13, 2008.

Wheeler, Nina Daniels, 60; civil rights crusader and Democratic party activist; in Dallas, July 10, 1995.

John C. White.

White, John C., 70; longtime Texas agriculture commissioner and Democratic party leader; in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 1995.

White, Richard C., 74; Democratic member of Congress 1965 to 1983 from West Texas; in El Paso, Feb. 18, 1998.

Whiteaker, Mildred, 75; journalist who pioneered coverage of women’s issues in the San Antonio Express-News where she worked for 32 years; in Alamo Heights, July 8, 1996.

Widman, Ralph Jr. “Buddy,” 90; voice of sports play-by-play at Dallas’ WFAA in 1940s–1960s; in Arlington, Nov. 17, 2009.

Wier, Rusty, 65; singer-songwriter was a Texas music legend, part of the Austin scene of the 1970s, wrote “Don’t It Make You Want to Dance”; in Driftwood, Oct. 9, 2009.

Wilkerson, David, 79; Lindale resident was evangelical minister and author of The Cross and the Switchblade, founder of Teen Challenge International and the Times Square Church in New York; in Cuney, April 7, 2011.

Wilkerson, Floyd F., 89; Dallas educator, journalist and civic leader; in DeSoto, Nov. 18, 1996.

Wilkin, Marijohn, 86; born Marijohn Melson in Kemp; was Nashville Hall of Fame songwriter, including “The Long Black Veil”; prominent Music Row publisher; Oct. 28, 2006.

Williams, Clarence, 69; longtime civic leader in East Side San Antonio; in San Antonio, Aug. 24, 1996.

Williams, Helen White, 81; Manor native was, along with her husband Eugene, longtime personal assistant in the Lyndon Johnson household beginning in 1950 and until President Johnson left the White House in 1969; Johnson, in his memoirs, wrote that his discovery of what the Williamses faced every time they drove back to Texas was an awakening to the indignity of discrimination against blacks; Feb. 25, 2005.

Williams, Lawton, 85; composer of 1957 country hit “Fraulein,” performer and emcee in early 1960s of “Big D Jamboree,” which was broadcast from Dallas; in Fort Worth, July 26, 2007.

Williams, Mack, 77; founding president of the Press Club of Fort Worth and publisher of the Fort Worth News-Tribune; in Fort Worth, March 12, 1995.

Williams, Milton Redd “Chief,” 72; Texas high school basketball legend led Dallardsville-Big Sandy to state championship in 1952, member of Alabama-Coushatta tribe; in Woodville, Oct. 31, 2007.

Williamson, Ric, 55; chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission who championed toll roads, Abilene native was former legislator 1985 to 1998; of a heart attack in Weatherford, Dec. 30, 2007.

Willingham, Noble, 72; Mineola native was character actor best-known for role as lawman C.D. Parker on th long-running Walker, Texas Ranger series; ran unsuccessfully for Congress from East Texas in 2000; Jan. 17, 2004.

Willis, Doyle Sr., 97; from 1947 to 1997 served four separate stints as state representative and senator from Tarrant County and in between served on the Forth Worth city council; in Fort Worth, June 22, 2006.

Willis, Phillip, 76; captured the first World War II prisoner after Pearl Harbor attack, served in Legislature; in Dallas, Jan. 27, 1995.

Wilson, Charlie, 76; congressman from East Texas for twelve terms, his advocacy for the Afghan struggle against the Soviet Army was the subject of Charlie Wilson’s War; in Lufkin, Feb. 10, 2010.

Wilson, Glen Parten Jr., 82; aeronautical engineer who helped create NASA; Waco native earlier was assistant to then Sen. Lyndon Johnson; in Fort Worth, Jan. 8, 2005.

Wilson, Mary Robert, 87; the first woman to be awarded the Silver Star for her heroics as a nurse in World War II; Tom Brokaw wrote a chapter on her in his book The Greatest Generation; in Duncanville, Nov. 19, 2001.

Wilson, Will, 93; Dallas native was known as crime-busting Texas attorney general in the 1950s, taking on illegal gambling in Galveston; made unsuccessful runs for governor and senator in the 1960s; in Austin, Dec. 14, 2005.

Windham, Thomas, 61; headed the Fort Worth police department for 14 years; advocate of neighborhood-based police programs; helped win creation of city crime tax in 1995 to funnel additional money to crime-fighting; in Fort Worth, Jan. 12, 2000.

Wisch, Jessard “Jimmy,” 85; publisher and co-founder of the Texas Jewish Post, and a fixture in the Jewish community in North Texas; former president of the American Jewish Press Association; in Fort Worth, Jan. 26, 2002.

Wisenbaker, Royce E., 84; East Texas businessman and benefactor to Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Tyler; in Tyler, Sept. 11, 2001.

Witherspoon, Joseph, 78; professor emeritus of law at the University of Texas in Austin and one of the founders of Texas Right to Life Committee; June 21, 1995.

Witts, David, 85; Dallas attorney who along with his friend Carroll Shelby started the famous Terlingua Chili Cook-off in 1967; chaired the Texas Aeronautics Commission; Oct. 25, 2006.

Wood, Gordon, 89; second-winningest coach in Texas high school football history, mostly in Brownwood where he won seven titles; Dec. 17, 2003.

Woodward, Halbert Owen, 82; Coleman native, federal judge in northwest Texas (1968 to 1987); in Brownwood, Oct. 3, 2000.

Wright, Charles Alan, 72; renowned constitutional scholar and professor at the University of Texas beginning in 1955; represented President Richard Nixon before the Supreme Court in 1974; in Austin, July 7, 2000.

Wyvell-Dickson, Dorothy, 83; one of the first medical specialists in Midland in the late 1940s, conservative political activist who ran for Congress in 1960; in Midland, May 20, 1997.