Mary Belle Sorell
Mary Belle Webb Sorell, 96, passed away peacefully on October 18, 2025, at Graham Oaks Nursing Home in Graham, Texas.
A memorial service to celebrate Mary’s life will be held on Saturday, November 8, at 10:00 a.m. at the First Christian Church, 101 East Williams, in Breckenridge, with Pastor Sonny McCauley presiding. A reception will follow in the church undercroft.
Mary was born on June 8, 1929, in Caddo, Texas. Her father was the ranch manager at the Veale Ranch, and she was the last person to be born on the ranch property. She spent her formative years growing up there and began her education in Caddo, later graduating from Breckenridge High School in 1948.
She married her high school sweetheart, Henry Sorell, on September 23, 1950, in Warrenton, Virginia, where her father had taken a position as manager of the Walter Chrysler Ranch. Mary and Henry moved to Virginia to assist her parents in managing the Chrysler Ranch. After four years in the eastern United States, she and the family became homesick and returned to Breckenridge in time for Mary to have her first child.
After growing up in Stephens County and marrying Henry, Mary spent most of her married years as a homemaker, raising two children, Janet and Richard, and assisting Henry in his oil and gas construction and maintenance business.
She was a lifelong member of the First Christian Church, where her grandfather was one of the founding members. Mary was also a longtime member of the Stephens Memorial Hospital Auxiliary.
Survivors include her daughter, Janet Sorell of Justin, Texas; her son, Richard Sorell and wife, Mary Kay, of Breckenridge; two granddaughters, Lindsey Sorell of Dallas and Rachel Sorell of Argyle; one great-granddaughter, Blake Sorell of Argyle; two nieces, Corice Anne Lefton of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Mary Jane Combs of Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia; and one cousin, Mary Ann Webb of Richmond, Virginia.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 47 years, Louis Henry Sorell; her mother, Lucille Rickard Webb; and her father, James Lloyd “Dick” Webb.
Memorials may be made to the Helping Hands Fund at the First Christian Church or to the Stephens Memorial Hospital Auxiliary.
Mary will be remembered for her warmth, faith, and devotion to her family and community.
