Robert E Lee Jr. (Bob) November 8, 1941 – January 14, 2025 Bob Lee (83) passed away peacefully Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at Lake Granbury Medical Center due to complications from heart disease. Bob was born to Robert and Nell Lee on November 8, 1941. He graduated from Bolton High School in Alexandria, LA and earned All-State honors in basketball. He earned his Bachelor of Administration in Accounting at Northwestern State College in 1965 and was President of Sigma Tau Gama fraternity. Bob spent his career as an accountant and controller in the oil industry. He worked for companies in Houston, Hattiesburg, MS, and St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. He spent much of his career with Pride Pipeline in Abilene, TX. He finished his accounting career as the CFO for an oil drilling company in Weatherford, TX. While Bob enjoyed his work, his family was the most important part of his life and brought him true joy and happiness. He was passionate about watching sports, especially college football and basketball. He was an avid Texas Tech and LSU fan. He enjoyed playing golf, gardening, and yard work most of his adult life. He is celebrated by his wife of 60 years, Pat Lee, his son Todd Lee of Kennedale, son and daughter-in-law Gregg & Kristi Lee of Round Rock, and his two granddaughters, Caitlin & Savannah Lee of Round Rock. He is survived by sister-in-law Fay Lou Gremillion, nephews Richard & Andy Gremillion, and honorary granddaughters Elizabeth (Tosten) Clifton and Katie (Tosten) Wright. He loved and will be missed by the O’Quin family. Bob was preceded in death by his beloved son Bryan Lee of Abilene, mother-in-law Harriet Gremillion, aunt Beth Harris, and loving brothers-in-law Richard (Dick) Gremillion of Lake Charles and Donald Gremillion of Alexandria, LA. The family is comforted by Bob’s faith and love of Jesus. He was a member of Lakeside Baptist church and proud to be part of the Light the Way Sunday School class. He was a Bible Study Fellowship leader for many years in Abilene. He was passionate about helping those in need and volunteering. A celebration of life will be held at Lakeside Baptist Church on Saturday, February 1, at 11:00am, located at 500 W Bluebonnet Dr, Granbury, TX 76048 In lieu of flowers, the family would be honored by donations to the Loaves and Fishes ministry at Lakeside Baptist church. https://onrealm.org/lakesidebc/-/form/give/now The family would like to give special thanks and recognition to Granbury Care Center staff, nurses, and aides for their kindness and support.

Danial Lee Gaffney, 80, passed away December 23, 2024 surrounded by his family in Midlothian, Texas. Dan was born on September 14,1944 in Fort Pierce, Florida to Dr. Philip and Hazel Gaffney. As a kid, and into college, Dan played numerous sports but excelled in basketball and baseball. After high school, Dan played semi-pro baseball for the Phoenix Firebirds, but was soon drafted into the Army and worked as a mechanic during Vietnam. In 1972, Dan married the love of his life, Ruth, and would later have 3 children. In 1986, the family moved from Scottsdale, Arizona to Midlothian, Texas so that Dan could continue his job as a distribution manager for Standard Brands Paint. Dan later went to work in management for Home Depot before starting his own business in 1998. Dan and his son-in-law, Brad, ran 3-D Towing until 2014. Dan loved all things sports, and enjoyed coaching baseball while Damon was growing up. He enjoyed fishing, Texas Rangers Baseball with his buddy Bob Hartson, and watching Tony Stewart race NASCAR. Dan loved his dogs, and watching his grandkids play sports. Dan was known for his quick wit and immense sarcasm. If you were lucky enough to be given a nickname, you knew he liked you. Dan is survived by his wife of 52 years Ruth, children Damon (Lorie), Danielle (Brad), and D’Vonne (Dustin), 15 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. He is also survived by 2 sisters, Pam Long of St Johns, Arizona and Phylene Gaffney of Windsor, Colorado.

Grand Prairie, TX – Victor Lee Blake passed away of natural causes on December 1, 2024. He was born on December 13, 1955, in Peoria, IL. Victor was called home to be with his father, Wilbur Lee Blake, his mother, Effie Blake, two younger brothers, Gary Wayne Blake and Lance Everett Blake, one grandson, Marchaun Maurice Boston, and one great-grandson, Marchaun Jahleel Blake. Victor is survived by his four children, Joby Jackson, Victoria Blake, Brandon (Courtney) Blake, and Brittany Blake, and seven grandchildren, Jalen Blake, Joshua Blake, Jacoby Blake, Brence Gibson, Addison Blake, Brooklyn Gibson, and Landon Blake and all of his fur grandbabies. He will be greatly missed by his six sisters, Joyce, Judy, Marsha, Donna, Sara, and Valerie, and his three brothers, David, Cortez, and Wilbur, as well as a host of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. He will be missed by other relatives and friends. Victor was the fourth of twelve siblings, all of whom had a love of sports and athletics. He was a man of many who participated in various sports and hobbies. He had a love of football, track & field, and softball. Victor loved to grill and hang out with family and friends in the Heights while listening to jazz and blues and always had an adult beverage in hand. You could always find him posted on the first two logs off New York Street at Peoria Stadium. Victor married his then-wife Diane and had three children, which gave him seven grandchildren. His life was fulfilled by participating, coaching, mentoring, and actively engaging in their activities. Victor then found his love of coaching football for Woodruff JFL. He was not only a coach but he was also a stern and loving father figure, mentor, and teacher to any young men and women that came through the Woodruff JFL program. Victor created his own academic eligibility program, “No Pass, No Play, but you are still practicing today.” His coaching impact at Woodruff JFL led many players to continue to play football in high school, college, and now some at the professional level until he relocated to Texas in 2011. In the words of Coach Vic, this is not just football, these are life lessons.  “On and off the field, Vic taught us that the true measure of a coach isn’t in victories but in the lives they inspire. Their passion, leadership, and love for the game will forever guide us like a compass on the field of life.” A celebration of Victor’s life will be held in Peoria, IL, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made out to Woodruff JFL at 3307 N.E. Adams St., Peoria, IL 61603. Additional donations may also be sent to warriormom.5606@yahoo.com. Please include “In Memory of Coach Vic” in the subject line.

Lee Senderov on Building Foundation Partners’ Future-Forward Digital Ecosystem

Lee Senderov imagines a world where the families and communities served by Foundation Partners Group are connected, informed and able to easily and conveniently engage with providers however they prefer. This year, Senderov and the Foundation Partners team have made incredible progress toward that goal with the introduction of their Afterall digital platform, the acquisition of end-of-life planning tool Cake, and recent integration with memorials powerhouse Chptr. 

“Like Cake, Chptr clearly aligns with our strategy for Afterall — building a single source for connection, community, content and commerce around end-of-life,” says Senderov, Foundation Partners Group chief marketing & digital officer. 

Borrow and apply

Senderov believes that deathcare can learn a lot from non-deathcare industries, everything from auto repair to Amazon. She encourages her team to “borrow and apply” — to adapt the best practices and most effective tactics from other industries to the world of deathcare. It’s a thoughtful technique that works when “copy and paste” just isn’t practical. 

“As we look at the ecosystem of consumer digital products and experiences out there, we see a lot of similarities in what some of the most forward-thinking companies and websites are doing,” says Senderov. “I’m by no means saying that funeral service needs to become Amazon, but we can borrow and apply best practices to be more approachable for consumers. The world is moving so fast, and we’ve got to keep up with consumer expectations.”

So far, Foundation Partners’ growing digital ecosystem is not only keeping up with the expectations of consumers, but also exceeding the expectations of team members in Foundation Partners’ more than 250 funeral homes, cremation centers and cemeteries. The feedback Senderov has received since integrating Cake’s massive catalog of resources into the Afterall platform has been phenomenal.

“I cannot tell you how many funeral directors called me and said, ‘We love the resource section,’” she says. “It’s a one-stop shop for families to find out everything from how to cope with grief and what to think about when planning a celebration of life to ‘Should I start thinking about planning for myself?’ We pull a lot of this information from questions our funeral directors receive from families that select us.”

Intentional and integrated

Adding Cake and Chptr to the Afterall ecosystem enables Foundation Partners to meet consumers where they are and make more options available to every family they serve. Each joint venture or acquisition decision is made carefully and intentionally to ensure that both partners are working toward a common goal.

“Over the last three years we’ve invested very heavily in our technology,” Senderov says. “We want to be known as that partner that is forward-thinking and innovative. I wouldn’t say that we’re aggressively going out there to acquire, but we are aggressively always seeking new partners that we believe are innovative and doing interesting things in our profession. So, where those partnerships or joint ventures go in the future, it’s always based on where that company is, where we are and if it’s the right fit.”

For Foundation Partners, both Cake and Chptr met all those criteria.

“We really connected the team at Chptr and the innovative platform they are building,” she says. “In addition to providing families with memorial videos and digital death notices, Chptr’s integration also enables sharing that content with local media and TV stations nationwide. We found that very compelling.”

Senderov says that her company’s decision to bring Cake into the fold also made perfect sense, as Foundation Partners had already established a great relationship with Cake’s founder Suelin Chen, and was impressed with her accomplishments and offerings. Since launching Cake in 2015, Chen had built an extensive digital catalog of more than 5,000 articles and tools for end-of-life planning and bereavement support.

“It was a great fit,” she says. “Not just from a synergy standpoint in terms of us thinking they had a really interesting approach to content, but even more than that, we thought they had an interesting approach to testing new products and ideas with consumers and being able to rapidly iterate on those to see what resonates and what doesn’t.

Complementary components

The recent additions of Cake and Chptr truly complement the Afterall platform, which brings together Foundation Partners’ deathcare providers, expanding both their reach and the options they can offer the families we serve and the community at large. 

For example, families choosing direct cremation through Tulip — another important component of the Afterall ecosystem — can now enhance their overall cremation experience with Chptr’s digital storytelling tools. 

“I think some people in the industry believe that families that choose direct cremation don’t want hands-on experiences or to memorialize their loved ones,” Senderov says. “In reality, families choosing direct cremation are memorializing their loved ones, just not in a traditional setting. Working with Chptr, we now can offer families more ways to celebrate and honor their loved ones on their own terms.”