The Family › Temple–Catchings › Catchings
Eugene Lloyd Catchings
1931–1972
✦ direct ancestor — Owen's grandfather · mother's side
✦ A story has been written about this person: Correspondence between Eugene Catchings and Chloye West — Five years of letters, from sixteen years old to married, 1947–1952 — in their own hands.
♪ Songs: Beautiful Accidents · Fats Domino — by Owen Temple, further down this page
Life
- Born
- 23 Jan 1931 · Taft, San Patricio, Texas, USA
- Died
- 22 May 1972 · Taft, San Patricio, Texas, USA
- Buried
- Taft, San Patricio County, Texas, United States of America
Parents
Marriage & children
Spouse✦ Chloye Ann West (1931–2002) m. 20 Dec 1949 · Taft, San Patricio County, Texas, United States of America
a living family member
Timeline
- 1935ResidenceSan Patricio, Texas
- 1 Apr 1940ResidenceSan Patricio, Texas, United States — Age: 9; Marital Status: Single; Relation to Head of House: Son
- 15 Apr 1948MilitarySan Antonio, Bexar, Texas, USA — Joined the Air Force
- 10 Aug 1948AddressTokyo, Tokyo, Japan — Left the US for deployment in the Pacific - radar school in Tokyo then on to Okinawa's Kadena Air Base
- 20 Dec 1949MarriedChloye Ann West — Taft, San Patricio County, Texas, United States of America
- 1972Residence
- —ResidenceTaft, San Patricio, Texas, USA
- —ResidenceTaft
Photographs
Songs
Beautiful Accidents
from Rings on a Tree
My grandfather was the 8th of 8 children. I don't know if my great-grandparents intended on having eight children, but I am glad he was born.
— Owen Temple · Lyrics →
Fats Domino
from Closer Says Love
A true story how Eugene helped Fats Domino by the side of the road one day in 1957. Told to me by my mother and verified with research.
— Owen Temple · Lyrics →
Records behind this page
1940 United States Federal Census
Year: 1940; Census Place: San Patricio, Texas; Roll: T627_4133; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 205-14
Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index
Number: [SSN redacted]; Issue State: Texas; Issue Date: Before 1951.Ancestry · subscription
Birth date23 Jan 1931
Death dateMay 1972
Ancestry.com, Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997
Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Birth IndexesAncestry · subscription
Birth date23 Jan 1931
Birth placeSan Patricio, Texas
Ancestry.com, Texas Divorce Index, 1968-2002
Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Divorce Index, 1968-2015Ancestry · subscription
Birth date1932
Marriage date19 Dec 1949
Divorce date1 Nov 1971
Divorce placeHarris, Texas
Ancestry.com, Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013)
Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin, TX; Texas, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1903-1932
Ancestry.com, Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013)
Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA
Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012)
Ancestry.com, U.S., Index to Public Records, 1994-2019 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2020)
Ancestry.com, U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2019)
The Corpus Christi Caller; Publication Date: 23 May 1972; Publication Place: Corpus Christi, Texas, USANewspapers.com · subscription
Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015)
Texas Death Index, 1903-2000
Texas Department of Health; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Death Indexes, 1903-2000
Research notes
Working notes from the research, kept verbatim — what was read, what it proved, what stays open. Many open with a line grading the parentage; what the grades mean.
Research note · 27 Jul 2026
PROOF CLASS: BOTH PARENTS = DIRECT (reviewed 4 Sep 2026). His 1972 Texas death certificate states the father in field 13 and the mother's maiden name in field 14.
Audited 27 Jul 2026. BOTH PARENTS EVIDENCED. Death certificate, San Patricio Co., 22 May 1972, state file 38969, image 33154_b062860-00892 (Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982 (Ancestry coll. 2272)): field 13 FATHER = 'James T. Catchings'; field 14 MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME = 'Ada Mae Johnson'. Also records U.S. armed forces service 1949-1953 and occupation Technician, Television. Buried Taft Cemetery. SSN on the certificate, deliberately not recorded.
Elsewhere
This person on Ancestry (sign-in required)