Barham Fulmer

Herschel Barham Fulmer II began his new life in Heaven on Easter Sunday morning, April 5, 2026. Barham was born on November 1, 1951, in Baytown, Texas, to his parents Herschel and Lucylle Fulmer. His family moved to the farm in Swift near Nacogdoches when he was eight years old. He attended Nacogdoches High School and was active in FFA, football, and many other organizations, serving as president of the Key Club, National Honor Society, and Student Council. Barham was a boy scout and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. After graduating from high school in 1970, he traveled the state for a year, serving as the FFA State President. He then went on to study and earn his degree in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University. Barham and Linda started dating in high school and were married in 1974. They have two children, Katy and Karl. Barham was a small-town banker for 44 years, working first at Commercial National Bank in Nacogdoches and then opening Cushing National Bank. For more than 18 years, he served as umpire with the Stephen F. Austin Chapter of Texas High School Football officials alongside his officiating crew of lifelong friends. In 1985, he moved his family to Hideaway and worked in Lindale for the last 33 years of his career until he retired from Southside Bank in 2018. Deeply invested in his community and devoting much of his time to civic work, Barham cofounded the Kiwanis Club of Hideaway Lake, where he served as the first club president and held numerous other offices over the years. He became the auctioneer for the club’s annual auction and helped raise thousands of dollars for scholarships and other community projects funded by Kiwanis. Barham is a past president of the Lindale Area Chamber of Commerce where he served actively as an officer for many years. He has also served as chairman of the Tyler Economic Development Council, the Lindale Economic Development Corporation, the Lindale ISD School Board, and the Hideaway Lake Community Church Board. He represented Smith County on the NET RMA Board of Directors, was Vice President and Treasurer of the Tyler Area Chamber, and was a member of the Youth With A Mission Advisory Board and East Texas Area Council. In 1997, he received the honor of “Citizen of the Year” in Lindale. He was appointed to the Texas State Teacher Retirement Board of Directors in 1998. He instilled in his family a legacy of service, and he especially cherished the Fulmer family tradition of ringing the Salvation Army Bell at Brookshires on Christmas Eve over the last 38 years with his children and grandchildren. At the time of his death, he was the treasurer for the Lindale Area Chamber of Commerce, an advisor for the Hideaway-Lindale Kiwanis Club, and was the Sunday School teacher of The Loft class at Hideaway Lake Community Church. Barham is survived by his wife of 52 years, Linda, sister Kathie Lamar and husband Preston, daughter Katy Payne and husband Nathan, son Karl Fulmer and wife Alex, grandchildren Emily Fulmer, Benjamin Fulmer, Lydia Payne, Abigail Payne, Samuel Payne, Paizlyn Perry and her children Breylynn and Aiden. Other beloved family members are brother-in-law Mark Dunn and wife Phyllis, nephews and nieces Adam Lamar, Brady Lamar and wife Leslie, Jonathan Dunn, Laurel McKeon and numerous other cousins and extended family. One of Barham’s favorite scriptures, which hung on the wall in his office for many years, is Psalm 1:1. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” Although the last months of his life were marked by the challenges of his illness, he will be remembered foremost for walking with integrity and living out his faith no matter the circumstances. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, April 14 at 1:00 pm at the Hideaway Lake Community Church in Hideaway, Texas. The family will receive visitors following the service. A graveside service will follow at the Lindale Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Caudle-Rutledge-Daugherty Funeral Home in Lindale. Memorial donations can be made to support the community Barham loved by giving to the Hideaway Lake Community Church Raise the Roof Mission Fund or the Hideaway Lake -Lindale Kiwanis Club Memorial Fund.

Barham Fulmer

November 1, 1951 - April 5, 2026