Dan Autry Malone

October 14, 1937 ~ January 8, 2026 (age 88)

Stephenville – Services for Dan Autry Malone, 88, Business Owner, will be held at 2:00 P.M., Monday, January 12, 2026, at First Baptist Church In Stephenville, Texas, with Dr. Ken May officiating. Burial will follow at Erath Gardens of Memory Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 1-2 P.M., January 12, 2026, at First Baptist Church of Stephenville, Texas.

He was born to Cecil Malone and Ollie (Halbert) Malone on October 14, 1937, in Murchison, Texas. Dan Married Sharon (Benson) Malone on February 22, 1958, in Athens, Texas. 

He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Stephenville. He loved hunting, golfing, calf roping, visiting with his friends, and spending time with his family.

He attended Texas A&M–Commerce, where he was a standout offensive football player and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1960. He also competed as a semi-professional baseball player. In 1962, he relocated to Stephenville, where he owned and operated the area’s first Dairy Queen, beginning a long and successful career as a small business owner in the food service industry.

A lifelong lover of sports, he remained actively involved in athletics throughout his life. He proudly coached his grandsons’ teams, leading two of them to a Texas State Flag Football Championships. In midlife, he developed a passion for calf roping and later served as president of the Old Timer’s Roper’s Association.

He will be remembered as a kind, generous, and dependable friend to many. Most of all, he treasured time spent with his grandchildren, who were the greatest joy of his life.

He is preceded in death by his son, Danny Malone, his sister, Paulette Brown, and his son in-law, Cavin James.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon Malone of Stephenville; his children, Stacey James of Stephenville, Texas, and Lisa Thompson of Little Elm, Texas; his grandchildren, Ben Noland, Nicholaus Malone, Christoper Malone, Daniel Noland, Elizabeth Thompson Werst, Sarah Malone Hertter, and Jake Thompson; 9 great-grandchildren; 2 great great-grandchildren; his niece, Tammy Noah and her husband, Brandon Noah; his niece, Kelly Sage and her husband, Dave Sage; his sister-in-law, Loy Beth Greer and her husband, Thom Greer; his mother-in-law, Barbara Benson; and his sister-in-law, Buffy Benson.

Memorials may be made to Phase III Children Renovation at the First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 124, Stephenville, TX. 76401, or The Foster Home for Children, 1179 N Graham St., Stephenville, TX 76401.