John Duncan Bounds

John Duncan Bounds, 82, of Bryan passed away Monday, Oct. 25, at his home after a fierce two-year battle with cancer. Services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at the First Baptist Church of Bryan, followed by burial at Franklin Cemetery in Franklin. A livestream of the service will also be available on Saturday; https://boxcast.tv/view/john-bounds-funeral-782731. Services are in the care of Callaway-Jones Funeral and Cremation Centers. Memorial gifts may be made to the First Baptist Church of Bryan building fund or the American Cancer Society.

John was born in Mexia and spent his first few years in Ralls before moving to Franklin in 1942, where his father, Eugene Bounds, was a high school vocational agriculture teacher and his mother, Geneva Porter Bounds, was an administrative assistant at the Robertson County Courthouse. John treasured his small-town childhood, which he spent playing football, hunting, fishing and skinny-dipping with his friends.

He graduated with decent grades from Franklin High School in 1957, then went on to Texas A&M, where he graduated by the skin of his teeth in 1961. While he clearly learned some things in college, the relationships he developed with his “Spider D” Corps buddies—and the trouble they got into—formed the heart of his college memories.

As a child in Franklin, John would play on the courthouse lawn with Elaine Moore as they both waited for their mothers to emerge. John became a big brother figure to Elaine, setting her up on dates with his A&M buddies until he finally got sense enough to ask her out himself. Their first date at The Queen Theatre in Bryan led to an enviable 60 years together.

While Elaine was at Baylor, John spent two years in the Army in San Antonio, then began establishing his insurance career in earnest. They married on April 24, 1965, settling briefly in Fort Worth before making their home in Dallas. On their second anniversary, John and Elaine welcomed Kara Frances into the family, followed six years later by Collin Eugene.

John slowly established a successful insurance career built on long-term relationships with his clients. In 1976, he became a partner at The Insurance Group. He served as president of the Dallas Association of Life Underwriters and, in 1994, was named the organization’s Life Underwriter of the Year. He also served as secretary of the Dallas Estate Planning Council and received numerous industry awards, including lifetime membership in the Million Dollar Round Table. But despite his business endeavors, faith and family always came first. Every Sunday and Wednesday, John joined his family at Wilshire Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon. He coached Kara’s softball teams, attended Collin’s choir performances, and was never too busy for a game of catch or a wheelbarrow ride.

The birth of John’s namesake, John Grant Socol, in 2001 prompted a move to College Station in 2008. John happily spent this final chapter of his life attending all of Grant’s activities, taking his grandson to A&M sporting events, and getting together both with his Class of ’61 buddies and with the new friends he made at the First Baptist Church of Bryan. Up until the week he died, John and Grant were texting each other the latest recruiting news and football statistics. There was never a grandfather crazier about a grandchild than John was of Grant.

John was the husband who never lost sight of how lucky he was, doting on Elaine during their 56th year of marriage as much as he did during their first. He was the dad who was fully involved in the lives of his kids. He was the son who looked after his widowed mother, and the grandfather who delighted in time spent with his grandson. He was the relative the extended family turned to in a crisis, and the friend who sensed needs and quietly stepped in to help in often life-changing ways.

Children adored him, quail feared him, and the many people whose lives he touched will never forget him.

John was preceded in death by his parents and by his in-laws, Joe and Minnette Petty New.

Survivors include his wife, Elaine Bounds, of Bryan; his daughter and son-in-law, Kara and Jay Socol, of Bryan; his son, Collin Bounds, of Portland, Ore.; his brother- and sister-in-law, Jon and Susan New, of Victoria; his grandson, John Grant Socol, of Bryan; and a host of cousins, including Genevieve Orr, who was like a sister to him.