Graveside services for Jerry D'Wayne Bland, 39, of West Orange will be at 10:30 A.M. Monday, August 18, 2008 at The Houston National Cemetery in Houston.
A gathering of family and friends will be from 11:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. Saturday, August 16, 2008 at Dorman Funeral Home in Orange. Mr. Bland passed away Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at his home in West Orange.
Born on May 9, 1969 in Butzbach, Germany to Jerry Wayne and Alice Loretta (Beetham) Bland, D'Wayne was a lifelong resident of the Bridge City and Orange area, he attended Bridge City High School, had worked as a sales representative for an area new car dealership and was a veteran of the United States Army during Operation Desert Storm. D'Wayne enjoyed sports and collecting sports memorabilia, he enjoyed collecting art and spending time with his family. D'Wayne was also a sneaky and mischievous kind of guy who loved to laugh and play practical jokes on his friends and family.
D'Wayne is preceded in death by his mother, Alice Neel; his paternal grandfather, Robert L. Bland and his maternal grandparents, Thomas and Hazel Beetham.
Those who will most cherish his memory are his father, Jerry Wayne Bland of Bullard, Texas; his girlfriend, Paula Zerko of West Orange; his former wife, Angie Hartman of Bridge City; his brother, Keith Allan Bland and his wife Cheryl of Chesterfield, Virginia; his paternal grandmother, Hazel B. Bland of Roanoke, Virginia; his aunt, Tammy Beetham and her daughter, Holly Beetham both of Rhode Island.