Wesley "Skipper" B. Folsom

Wesley Blake “Skipper” Folsom, 78, died peacefully (September 8, 2018) after a long-fought illness surrounded by his loving family.

Skipper was born in Houston, Texas to Mavis Hambrick and Leon Lenoir Folsom on May 20, 1940.  He attended Jeff Davis High School where he participated in football and baseball.  His mother was determined to cultivate the arts into his young life with piano, violin, and tap dancing at a young age, but his interests were elsewhere. He did, however, develop a love for drawing and painting, winning first place in a city-wide competition in Houston.  Later, he attended the University of Houston, working his way through school selling and modeling suits for Sakowitz Department Store. After serving in the Texas Air National Guard for 6 years, he worked for James Food Brokerage until 1967 when his father persuaded him to join the car business at Lenoir Folsom Cadillac and Oldsmobile in Harlingen.

He enjoyed over 40 years of service to his customers, cultivating life-long friendships and business relationships throughout the Valley.  During his years at Lenoir Folsom he received the Vanguard Award for Excellence nine consecutive years and wore his ring proudly.  He continued his career in the business as a general manager for Weslaco Motors, before finishing his automotive career at Luke Fruia and Cardenas Autoplex.  To this day, he still received calls from old customers, his friends and family asking for his advice.  After retiring from the car business he became a co-owner of Companion Sitter Service with his wife, JoAnn.

Skipper had many passions in life, but none more important than spending time with family.  His second greatest passion was hunting in the South Texas brush, so much so that his kids had his favorite deer reconditioned for his 75th birthday which brought him extreme joy.

Anyone who knew Skipper knew of his love of gardening and landscaping.  His sons would complain about his expectations for perfection and to this day he continued to show pride in his landscape and once proudly displayed his “Yard of the Month” award.

Skipper was preceded in death by his mother Mavis Hambrick, his father Leon Lenoir Folsom and his son Kirk Folsom.  He is survived by his wife of 45 years, JoAnn Stock Folsom, daughter Kristie Zorens (Doug), sons Michael Zanca (Lynn), Kevin Folsom (Lacy), Jason Folsom, and Matthew Folsom (Samantha).  He was “Poppy and Papa” to his six grandchildren: Amanda Fudge (Chris), Christian Zanca, Taylor Zanca, Wesley Folsom, Wyatt Folsom, and Jessica Folsom and his two great grandchildren, Tatumn Folsom and Spencer Folsom.

Visitation will be held at Buck Ashcraft Funeral Home on Thursday, September 13th from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with the Rosary at 7:00 p.m.

A service will be held at St. Anthony Catholic Church on Friday, September 14th at 1:00 p.m. with Rev. Amador Garza as celebrant.  A graveside service will follow immediately at Mont Meta Memorial Park in San Benito.

Pallbearers will be Richard Stock, Brian Stock, Robert Stock, Doug Zorens, Ward Cook, and Matt Hamby.

Honorary pallbearers will be Joe Jones, Gerald Macmanus, George Lauer, Dale Dillon, Tommy Sandlin, Jerry Wade, Joe Shafer, Mike Wisdom, Danny Zuniga, and Jim Merker.

For those desiring to do so, memorial contributions may be made to a charity of choice.