Eldon Wade "Rack" Tindel

E. W. “Rack” Tindel, 91, passed away peacefully on March 27, 2021 in Tyler, Texas after a long and fruitful life. A graveside service celebrating his life is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at the Damascus Baptist Church Cemetery, 17080 County Rd 4105, outside Lindale, Texas under the direction of Caudle-Rutledge-Daugherty Funeral Home with the Rev. Denny Autrey officiating. The family will receive friends at Caudle-Rutledge-Daugherty Funeral Home, 206 West South Street, Lindale, Texas on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Rack was born on August 22, 1929 in Brownsboro, Texas to Walter Wade and Gladys Jewel Tindel and lived most of his adult life in the Lindale community. He was a graduate of Brownsboro High School, Sam Houston State University and the University of Houston School of Pharmacy. After graduation from Sam Houston, Rack served in the United States Army as decorated paratrooper attached to the 101st Airborne Division. He saw combat during the Korean War as a member of the famed “Fighting Rakkasans” unit of the 187th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne. Upon honorable discharge from the Army in 1953, he taught school for a brief period at Tyler High before moving to Lindale High School where he taught from 1954 to 1961. During his stint at Lindale, he taught math and science and coached football, basketball and track. Rack had an immensely successful career as the head football coach at Lindale winning multiple district championships and who, for the remainder of his life, was referred to as “Coach Tindel” by many of his former players and students. His coaching background naturally made him an enthusiastic Lindale Eagles sports fan and he regularly attended Lindale athletic events well into his late 80’s and he especially loved to root for the Eagles when his children and grandchildren were participating. Following in the footsteps of his father, who was longtime drug store owner in Brownsboro, Rack left teaching to pursue a degree in pharmacy at the University of Houston in 1961. After serving as the president of his senior class, upon graduation from U of H Rack was employed as a pharmacist in Kilgore, Texas and Tyler. In 1965 he purchased what became Tindel Drug which he operated on and off at various locations in Lindale until his retirement in 2009. He will be remembered by many residents of Lindale for the times he would frequently open his store in the middle of night for people needing emergency prescriptions filled and for helping desperate families with sick children who needed assistance or could not afford medicine. No person who needed Rack’s help was ever turned away for financial reasons and most who could not afford to pay him never received a bill. Rack was an engaged and active citizen of the city of Lindale for many years, participating in various local service clubs and booster organizations. He was elected to the Board of Trustees for the Lindale Independent School District in the 1970’s and his passion for education, coupled with his understanding that a strong local school system was vital to maintaining a thriving community, put him at the forefront of championing the construction of new school buildings, spearheading the development of additional campuses and emphasizing the necessity for hiring high quality teachers at all grade levels. One of his proudest achievements was to see the growth and development of Lindale ISD into one of the premier public school districts in the state of Texas. His lifelong interest and support of the Lindale schools led the Lindale High School Alumni Association to select him for its Distinguished Service Award in 2013, an honor which he took great pride in receiving. In his spare time, Rack was an avid bird hunter and a crack shot with a 12 gauge shotgun. He enjoyed nothing more than a day spent walking the fields hunting for coveys of quail with his great and good friend Jerry Kidd, working in tandem with the bird dogs they both loved to train and care for. He also spent many happy hours playing golf at Hideaway Lake with the wide circle of friends he maintained there. Closer to home, he and his beloved wife Charlotte annually planted a vegetable garden in their backyard which was a source of joy to them and also a source of delicious produce which they generously distributed to family and friends at harvest time. However, all of these pursuits and awards paled in comparison to the overarching joy of Rack’s life which was his family. No man ever cared more for his family or loved them more ardently than Rack Tindel. He married the love of life, Charlotte Bingham Shelton, on April 26, 1986 and they shared almost 35 wonderful years together. Rack’s wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were at the center of his universe and he took immense pride in their accomplishments and achievements. Nothing was more important to Rack than the happiness and well-being of his family and he was never more content than when surrounded by family members, both close and extended, at holidays and family gatherings. He was a man of true greatness in all the aspects of life that really count for something of lasting importance in this world and beyond into eternity. He cherished his family with a deep and abiding love that was absolutely unmistakable to those who experienced it and who are now so saddened at his passing – yet who at the same time are rejoicing at his entry into heaven. Rack was a longtime member of First Baptist Church Lindale and the Encouragers Sunday School Class for many years. Rack was a born again believer in Jesus Christ, confessing Him as his Lord and Savior. Rack is a beloved child of God who is now at rest for all eternity in heaven with his wonderful Savior and reunited with his parents and brothers and sister who have gone on before him and whom he longed to see again. Rack will be keenly missed by his family and his many friends and by all who knew and loved him. Rack is survived by his wife, Charlotte Tindel; son Andy Tindel and wife Sandy of Tyler; daughter Louanne Bibby and husband Kenneth Bibby of Lindale; son Jeff Shelton and wife Kathy of Lindale; granddaughter Lauren McKim and husband Jim of Evansville, Indiana; granddaughter Lindsey Bailes and husband Ryan of Tyler; great-grandchildren Maxwell Hampton McKim, Blaire Hazle Bailes and Mary Charlotte McKim; sister Evelyn Fitzgerald of Chandler, Texas and numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom he was especially close to. Rack was predeceased by his parents, brothers Harry Tindel and Dr. Roland Tindel and sister Myronell Giles. Pallbearers will be Ray Foster “Scutter” Tindel, Perry Mac Hutchens, Luster Kidd, Gregg Kidd, Mike Allen and C. James Rutledge. The family would also like to thank Rack’s longtime personal physicians, Dr. Steven Keuer and Dr. Wendall Hand, as well as the doctors, nurses and staff at Hospice of East Texas for the excellent care Rack received during his final days. If desired, memorials in remembrance of Rack Tindel may be made to the First Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 321, Lindale, Texas 75771 or the charity of your choice.

Eldon Wade "Rack" Tindel

August 22, 1929 - March 27, 2021