Robert (Bobby Jo) Walker

Robert (Bobby Jo) Walker died in Houston on February 21, 2020, after a 10 year battle with cancer and its complications.  No services are planned.

Dennis Bruce Hill

Dennis Bruce Hill 1937 ~ 2019
 
Dennis Bruce Hill was born on July the 8th, 1937, in Houston, Texas and died on March the 18th, 2019 at the age of 81.
 
From his own writings of his life recorded in his compilation of the Hill Family History:
"In my childhood, the first really significant memory, aside from the loving warmth of my mother, was the Second World War. Air raid drills, rationing, the war industries, news of the battles, then in 1945 it was over. VE Day, VJ Day, parades, Roosevelt and Churchill. I saw something that I have never seen since…a national swell of patriotism. Also from 1945 I remember Mahatma Gandhi.
I spent my teen years in military school. I am deeply grateful to have learned self-discipline and endurance and a tenacity that provided such a solid foundation for my whole life. Fascinated with the sciences, I took a degree in chemistry which provided for ten years working in medical research; primarily enzyme physiology. During those years I married Sheryl Swainhart, and Erin Leigh was born; light of my life.
 
Music was a serious pastime for many years; I sang several seasons in the Houston Symphony Chorale, performed often in a medieval madrigal octet, and played harpsichord just to enjoy Baroque period music on the original instrument. I might have taken up the kazoo instead, had I realized that the harpsichord required retuning every week.
In sports, swimming became a fast favorite after catching both feet in the hurdles trying out for the track team. My brother always beat me in the sprints, so I became a distance swimmer, going through the University of Houston on an athletic scholarship.
My father's interest in science and computers must have taken root as I spent the balance of my professional career in the computer field; writing custom database applications for business and education. My most abiding interest, however, has been in the study of philosophies and ancient civilizations…specifically, the field of epistemology: the roots of knowledge itself.
I was born in Houston, moved to Austin, Texas in 1970, then to Turlock, California in 1995 to be close to my daughter, Erin. I've traveled in Central and Southwest Mexico, the wilderness of Northeastern Canada, and all over India. Ah, travel, such a humbling experience."
Dennis dedicated his recent years to teaching meditation and was a published author. He taught at local yoga studios, across the world via Skype, and held classes at his home. He was always eager to help his family and friends in practical ways. He was a true gentleman and lived his life with a rare tenderness and unconditional love that he put into action. His friends and family knew they were an object of his affection and somehow he made you feel like you were his favorite.

Dennis lived with cancer for the past several years, but always had a desire to live independently and pain free, which he managed with support from CovenantCare Hospice. He took meticulous care of his health and achieved his goal of a long and vibrant life. He died peacefully surrounded by the love of his family and best friend, Meg.
 
Dennis is survived by his daughter, Erin Nelson, her husband, Bryan, his four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He also leaves behind his brother, Michael Hill (Marji) in Houston, Texas; Erin's sister Kelli (Fred) DeJong and family, along with beloved cousins, nieces and nephews.

JANET HUBLY NOEVER 1937-2020

Dr. Janet Hubly Noever

November 22, 1937 ~ February 20, 2020 (age 82)

Dr. Janet Hubly Noever passed away peacefully on February 20, 2020, at the age of 82 following a stroke. After three decades of teaching, she retired as an American history professor at Rose State College in Midwest City, Oklahoma, where she also served as a departmental chair and college dean for several years. Her courses in American and Women’s History, which she pioneered in Oklahoma, touched the lives of thousands of students. In retirement, she followed her three great passions: family genealogy, doll collecting and quilting.

Janet was born the second of four children in Houston, Texas to Anton and Genevieve (Black) Hubly. At Lamar High School, she became a skilled competitive debater and traveled nationally to speech tournaments. She earned her bachelor’s degree in history from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. At SMU, she met and eventually married her late husband, Robert, a seminary student. At the University of Oklahoma, Janet earned her two master’s degrees and Doctorate in American history, while also teaching and raising her two children, Nancy and David. She started her first graduate history courses when her children entered grade school and earned her Ph.D. the year her daughter graduated from college. In her published research, she highlighted the historical struggle for fairness and equal representation:

“Perle Mesta: An Ardent Feminist” - a biographical study of the Truman-era diplomat
“Passionate Rebel: Mary Gove Nichols 1810-1884” - her doctoral thesis on the nineteenth-century advocate for health reform, hydrotherapy, and women’s wellness.
“Women in Oklahoma Territory: 1889-1907.” – a massive bibliography of the contributions of Oklahoma pioneer women.
“Votes for Women, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution: A Researcher's Notebook,” - documenting her research into the figures and events important to women’s suffrage.

She looked forward to celebrating the centennial anniversary of women’s right to vote in August 2020. 

As a college administrator at Rose State College, she chaired the social science division from 1990-1991 and served as its dean from 1991-1992 during a period when the fifty-year old college expanded rapidly to its large current enrollment of 7500 students.  While a departmental dean, Marquis “Who's Who” listed her as a noteworthy college administrator.  Her first loves were always research and teaching, so she returned to the classroom and the world’s great libraries in 1992. During her academic career, she earned numerous research grants, including seminars at UCLA (1973), Princeton (1977), Duke (1983), Harvard-Radcliffe College (1985) and New York University (1988).

Inspired by the gift of an orange-covered biography (as part of the Childhood of Famous Americans series popular in the 1940s) Janet began exploring American history as an eight-year-old child while honing her keen eye for the social context of historical events. In retirement, that love of biography transformed into a focus on curating the stories from her own family tree. A skilled researcher, she, along with her sister, Bonnie, traced her family’s roots through their three-century journey from the early 1700s. She compiled an extensive chronology and essays interweaving historical context with personal stories documenting her family’s migration to and across the US.

Janet loved to sew. She learned to sew to make doll clothes as a child. As a teenager with dreams of being a fashion designer, she would design and make gowns of taffeta and satin for dances. Through most of her life, she made many of her own clothes. As a mother, she made some of her children’s clothes. Her daughter fondly remembers a childhood dress covered in pockets where treasures were hidden and elegant prom dresses for her high school and college dances. An avid doll collector, one of her hobbies was to make historically accurate doll clothes depicting the changes in women’s fashion.  

In retirement, Janet focused on quilting. She made multiple quilts for her family members, often themed around important events in their lives. Through the Edmond Quilt Guild and as independent projects, she also made several hundred donation quilts for the elderly, wheelchair-bound, children and babies in foster care.  Through a grant from the Central Oklahoma Quilters’ Guild, Dr. Noever combined her love of history with her love of quilting when she studied Seminole Patchwork. The Seminole Indians’ patchwork technique was one of the factors leading to quick quilt making and the growing popularity of quilting in the late twentieth-century. She gave several public talks outlining what she had discovered from her latest research.  She was active in multiple Oklahoma quilting guilds and the community offered a generous circle of new friends when she moved to Huntsville, AL.

In a note left for her children, she expressed what quilting meant to her. “Remember that I loved the process. It was the planning of the quilt, the fabric shopping, the looking for patterns, the possibilities of it all, the sewing of it, the nice women and friendships that developed, the trips I took centered around the quilt world. All of this that I enjoyed. The whole quilt world creativity itself that I so enjoyed.” Her fabric stash was one of her life’s great treasures. She wrote in an email to her daughter, “Don’t bemoan my excesses. Just know the joy it brought me in my ‘later years’. It is hard to imagine my life without quilting.” The day before her death, the syndicated television program “The Quilt Show” celebrated her stunning blue and white quilt called “Halo Medallion” shown here.  Janet remarked that the quilt’s intricate pattern tested all the skills she had learned over a lifetime of sewing.

She credited a desire to keep busy as her secret to maintaining her independence while driving and living at home into her eighties.  Over the practical ups and downs of a full life, she is remembered for her wit, passionate research interests, and loving creativity. She is survived by her two children, Nancy Noever of Los Angeles, CA, and David Noever of Huntsville, AL, her daughter-in-law Samantha, two grandchildren, Chloe’ and Maxwell, and her sister, Bonnie Lou Hubly of Houston, TX. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Huntsville Hospital Foundation - Neonatal ICU (NICU) Donor Tree at https://www.huntsvillehospitalfoundation.org/get-involved/give-now. At the time of her death, she was working on 60 NICU covers for them and had just completed the first 30 quilt tops.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dr. Janet Hubly Noever, please visit our floral store.

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Wanda Oertling Bradfield

Wanda Oertling Bradfield

February 12, 1938 ~ February 4, 2020 (age 81)

Wanda Oertling Bradfield was born on February 12, 1938, in Welch, Louisiana, the youngest of three children born to Ira and Wanda Oertling. Her family would later move to Houston, where her father was employed as a rice buyer. Wanda attended and graduated from Lamar High School in Houston and completed one year of college studies at University of St. Thomas where she met her future husband, Bill Bradfield.

Wanda and Bill were married in Houston on August 8, 1959, and would eventually have four children (Kathi, Tim, Paul and Susan), eleven grandsons, two step grandchildren, six great-great grandchildren, and many beloved daughter and son in laws. They lived in Houston for many years before moving to Comfort, Texas, and then later to Wimberley, Texas. Regardless of where Wanda lived, she was an active member of the Catholic Church and built friendships that lasted her lifetime.

Wanda's life revolved around taking care of her family and her friends. She loved to cook, but seldom took the time to write down recipes, which frustrated her husband immensely who often tried to emulate her cooking but was seldom successful. Wanda's cooking often reflected her Cajun heritage, especially when she was cooking a seafood gumbo or a shrimp etouffee. Left overs were never a problem when these were served as there were never any.

Wanda passed away on February 4, 2020 in Bryan, Texas after a brief battle with lung cancer. She is preceded in death by her mother, father, sister Doris, brother Ira, husband William, daughter Kathi and grandson Justin. Services are scheduled for 10 AM, February 21, 2020, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Bryan, Texas.

Charles Gates 1938 - 2012

Charles Gates, 74 years of age, a prior resident of the DeGeorge Hotel in Houston TX, died on April 26, 2012 at the Veterans Hospital in Houston Tx. Charles was born January 11, 1938, in the old Hermann Hospital in Houston TX, the son of Dixie Marie Gates and Charles Schlabach. He graduated from Lamar High School in 1956 (mid year), attended Texas A & M University, and was a veteran of the United States Marine corps. Charles was preceded in death by his beloved grandparents, C.E. and Marie Gates, his parents, and a brother Wayne Olmsted, and a sister, Kathy Olmsted. Charles is survived by a brother, Frank (Anne) Olmsted of Lake City FL; sister, Julie Olmsted of Charlotte NC; an uncle, Edgar Schlabach of Houston; daughter, Charlotte (James) Bellm of San Antonio TX; son, Colin (Lacey) of Houston; daughter, Robin of Dallas; daughter, Dixie (David) Augustine of Carrollton TX; and six grandchildren, Lulu, Tony, Peyton, Alexis, Hudson, and Harper; and several nieces and nephews. Charles was an avid sports fan, especially enjoying a passion for baseball. He graduated from the Harry Wendlestat Umpire school in Daytona Beach FL, and was qualified to umpire college and high school baseball games, which he did for years. Also, there was not a statistic or "old time player" related to Major League Baseball that he did not know something about. A memorial service in his honor will be held at a later time. Donations in his name can be made to the Wounded Warriors Foundation.

Martha Craig Fisher

1938 - 2014

Denver, CO

Martha Craig Fisher, age 76, passed away Sunday June 29, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. A Memorial Service will be held on Monday, July 7, 2014 at St. James' Episcopal Church on Oak Ridge Drive in Jackson, Mississippi at 11am. A visitation will be held at St. James' prior to the service at 10am. Interment will follow at the Natchez Trace Memorial Park Cemetery in Madison.

She was born Mary Martha Craig on June 24, 1938 in Houston, Texas. She attended Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans, LA and received her undergraduate degree from Belhaven College in Jackson in 1981, shortly following the birth of her seventh child. She received her Master of Education degree in Early Childhood Education from Oklahoma City University, specializing in the Montessori teaching method. She was a lifelong teacher in many contexts, and played a vital role the revitalization of religious education within the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi. She helped to initiate the Montessori-inspired Catechesis of the Good Shepard program in the State and was a central part of the program at St. James' Episcopal Church for many years.

She married Luther Calvin Fisher, III MD on December 30, 1957 and together they had seven children. They lived and raised their children in a number of places including Jackson, Mississippi, Houston, Texas, Pensacola, Florida and also Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In recent years they have lived in Taos, NM.

Martha is survived by her husband Luther (Red) Fisher, her children Luther (Luke) Fisher, Marion Hearon, Claire Kirkpatrick, Stephen Fisher, Lorenzo (Lenzy) Fisher, Peter Fisher and Joshua Fisher, her sister Marion Johannsson, and twelve grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Martha Fisher Fund for Catechist Education with checks payable to St. James' Episcopal Church, 3921 Oak Ridge Drive Jackson, MS 39216.

Robert Lester Black

Robert Lester (Bobby) Black
1938-2020

Robert Lester Black was born in Austin, Texas on June 5, 1938 to Darold Lester Black and Jesse Ella Black, and passed away on March 20, 2020.He was predeceased by his parents, daughter Marsha, brother Clinton and sisters Leal and Annie. He survived by his wife Edna, son Jeff, daughters, Debbie, Janet, and Robin, 10 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. Bob graduated from Lamar High School in 1956. He loved sports and closely followed all the Houston teams. He was an avid fisherman. Bob served in the US Army and was a member of the American Legion in West Columbia. Bob was a member of the Sweeny Church of Christ and the West Columbia Lions Club. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

 Published in Houston Chronicle on Apr. 1, 2020