Shawn's obituary, as it ran in several newspapers:
Shawn Patrick Hefner, 22, of Hico, a U.S. Marine Corps lance corporal, was killed in action Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, in the Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Funeral: 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at Hico First Baptist Church.
Interment: Hico Cemetery. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Rutledge Funeral Home in Hico.
He was ceremoniously welcomed back to American soil early Sunday at Dover Air Force Base, Del. A motorcade escort will leave Waco Airport at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, scheduled to arrive in Hico shortly after noon.
Shawn was born Dec. 4, 1986, in Kansas City, Mo. He moved to Texas in 1991 and was a 2006 graduate of Hico High School. He joined the Marine Corps in January 2008 and was assigned to Delta Company, 2nd Amphibious Assault Battalion, Camp Lejeune N.C., and was deployed to Afghanistan in June 2009 where he gave his life for our country.
Shawn was a fun-loving jokester, who loved anything outdoors and the Marine Corps suited his fearless lifestyle. He was preceded in death by his grandfather, William Schroff, and his grandmother, Mary Hefner, both of Hico. Survivors: Parents, Patrick and Robin Hefner of Hico; brother, Brandon Hefner of Mesquite; sister, Jessica Meagan Hefner of Hico; granddad, Raymond Hefner of Hico; grandmother, Lynn Schroff of Mesquite; uncles, Richard Hefner and wife, Pat, of Dallas, Henry Hefner and wife, Nancy, of Waxahachie and George Hefner and wife, Esther, of San Antonio; aunts, Mary Ellen Hefner of Hico, Julia McMillin and husband, David, of Dallas, Susan Stone and husband, Bill, of Garland, Brenda Benfield of Mesquite and Patti Barishefsky and husband, Jay, of Frisco; many cousins; extended family; and his Hico community family.