Tammy "Hoot" Mchargue

Tammy (Hoot) Wessel McHargue, age 58 of Gatesville, passed away on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 in Gatesville, Texas.

Tammy Gay Wessel McHargue was born on November 1, 1963 in Emporia, Kansas to Charlotte Olsen Wessel and the late Ronald Wessel.  She grew up in Emporia, Kansas and graduated from Emporia High School in 1982.  She married Jackie McHargue in 1987, and they moved to Gatesville in 1998.

Tammy loved horses and animals, and she followed her mother, Charlotte Wessel’s, example of working with young people as a 4-H volunteer leader. She gave tirelessly of her time, talent and resources as the leader of the Coryell County 4-H horse program and as the horse judging and horse quiz bowl coach. She was honored for her many years of service by Coryell County Extension and Fair board in 2021.

As a child, Tammy wanted to race, whether it was on foot, on horse or on a bicycle, and she declared she would grow up to be a jockey. Tammy loved to run and won many medals for speed as a member of the Emporia High School Cross Country and Track teams. She continued running until her health no longer allowed her to do so.

Immediately following high school, she left Kansas for Texas and began her career in horse racing. In 1990, she was named the Leading Rider Apprentice in Texas.

In her youth, she was a member of the Chamness 4-H Club and the Rawhide Wranglers 4-H Horse Club in Lyon County. She was talented in communicating with animals which earned her many awards in the showring. She won the National 4-H Horse Bowl contest in Pennsylvania for her extensive knowledge of equine science; was the top sheep showman at the Kansas Junior Livestock Show in Wichita; was high individual in numerous National Horse Judging contests, and even won beef showmanship with a broken arm as she taught her steer to set his feet without the use of the show stick.

Tammy was also an artist and enjoyed sketching, painting and pottery. Her pottery was recognized as excellent in several high school art shows. Her art subjects were animals, family members and the Kansas landscape. She signed all her creations with her nickname Hoot G. Tammy also used her artistic talent as a floral designer, working at Graves Florist in Gatesville.

Tammy is survived by her husband, Jackie McHargue; daughter, Tara Lovorn and husband, Cole; mother, Charlotte Wessel; grandchildren, Garrett Lovorn, Holten Lovorn and Zella Lovorn to be born in November; sisters, Rhonda Atkinson and husband, Eric; Brenda Wessel; Ginger Wessel.

Tammy loved her family closing the many miles between Kansas and Texas with a phone call to her parents and sisters each evening. She also loved the Kansas Flint Hills where she and her sisters rode their horses and where her family had many picnics. Returning or leaving Kansas, Tammy always stopped at the cattle pens along the turnpike to gaze over the Flint Hills and said, “this is home.”

Tammy is coming home to Kansas to stay. Family will remember her with a private graveside service at the Greenwood Cemetery in Emporia, Kansas, and a memorial service in Gatesville is planned for later in 2022. Friends are welcome to pay their respects and sign the guest book Sunday, September 25, 2022 from 8:00 A.M. until 9:00 P.M. at the Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, Emporia, Kansas.