Mary Prudie Brown was born in Valiant, Okla., Aug. 19, 1923, to Fannie Pearl and C.E. Story, and was raised on a farm and ranch operation in Martin County, where her father served as County Judge. She and her husband, Glenn, were active in the Church of Christ and operated the Stanton Walgreen Agency Drug store for more than 40 years. At their 50th Anniversary celebration in 1997, County Judge Davenport introduced Mary Prudie and Glenn as Mr. and Mrs. Martin County. Mary Prudie also served as President of the Texas Federation of Music Clubs and thereafter of the National Federation. She received the first Distinguished Service Award given by the Texas Federation of Music Clubs at their state convention in Lubbock in March 2010. After the death of Glenn in 2000, after more than 55 years of marriage, Mary Prudie served until 2008 as President of Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony in Eureka Springs, Ark., and on the board of the Permian Basin Historical Society, as well as on many local committees and programs in Stanton, from the museum and library, to the County Agents office, the hospital thrift shop and the church. In 2006, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Ohio Valley University in Parkersburg, W.Va., by President James Johnson. An important new endeavor is her work begun in 2003 with Guy and his wife, Brenda Cheryl, on The Straight Gate Project, a 501(c)3 charitable foundation operating a three-acre residential complex for Christian prison aftercare and substance abuse recovery in Oak Cliff (South Dallas). The Straight Gate is one of the largest such projects in the Southwest and has served more than a dozen prison ministries and four hundred ex-offenders from throughout the state. The eldest of Mary Prudies three grandchildren, himself a Dallas resident and Straight Gate volunteer, has already opined that, in the end, this recovery project will be remembered as her most enduring civic work. She was preceded in death by her son, Baxter Charles; and her husband, Glenn. She is survived by her son, Guy Story, and his wife, Brenda Cheryl, of Slaton; her daughter, Suzanna Leigh of Dallas; and grandchildren, Darcy Wilson of Dallas, Austen Story of Washington, D.C., and Dixie (Ivi) Brown of Austin. Funeral services were held Friday, April 16, 2010, at the Downtown Church of Christ in Stanton. Interment followed at Evergreen Cemetery in Stanton.
David Chamberlain Hobart
David Chamberlain Hobart (Dave), 88, passed away Thursday, March 11, 2010. He was born July 20, 1921 in Rockford, Illinois to Henry M. and Ellen C. Hobart. He was preceded in death by his parents, by Jeanice, his beloved wife of 63 years, and by his brother, Henry, Jr. He is survived by his son, Mark Hobart and wife Sharon, his daughter Michele Barnes and husband Douglas, his granddaughter Kimberly Chapa and husband Scott, his great granddaughters Carissa and Elyse, his grandson Brian Barnes and wife Michelle, all of Houston, and his brother, Roger Hobart and wife Freda, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, his sister, Lois Sidway, of Painter, Virginia, and their families.He graduated from high school in Enid, Oklahoma in 1938, and from Phillips University in Enid in 1942 with a degree in economics and accounting. After service in the Army during World War II from 1942 to 1945, he attended the University of Oklahoma as a graduate student. His army service was in the Tehran headquarters of the Persian Gulf Command. It operated five gulf ports with assembly plants for trucks and planes. It also moved equipment and supplies by truck and rail across Iran to Russian armies fighting German invaders. In 1944, at age 22, by invitation of the governor of the National Bank of Iran, he attended a rare showing of the fabulous imperial crown jewels of Persia (Iran).His professional career was in accounting and administrative positions of Amoco Production Company in Tulsa and Houston. He retired at the end of 1981 with 36 years of service. He was a member of the Petroleum Accountants Society of Houston since 1954 and was president in 1960. In 1961 he was a founder and first president of the new Council of Petroleum Accountant Societies (COPAS). He was a member of the Texas-Midcontinent Oil & Gas Association, and for 26 years, 1970 to 1995, he was the financial chairman of the annual Petroleum Institute for Educators at the University of Houston.He was an elder at Bethany Christian Church in Houston and held various offices, including Treasurer, Chairman of the Board, and Trustee. Since 1966 he was a member of the Governing Board of Inspiration Point Fine Arts Center in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, an internationally recognized training center for opera singers, founded by his father in 1950.A memorial service will be held Tuesday, March 16 at 2:00, at Bethany Christian Church, 3223 Westheimer. In lieu of flowers, any memorial contributions may be made to Bethany Christian Church or to Inspiration Point Fine Arts Center, 16311 Hwy 62W, Eureka Springs, Arkansas 72632.
Jeanice Goff Hobart
JEANICE GOFF HOBART, 87, passed away peacefully in Houston on the 20th of June 2008, after a long illness. She was born on the 26th of January 1921, to Ruth and Orville H. Goff in Apache, Oklahoma, and she was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Gerald Goff, Stillwater, Oklahoma. She is survived by her loving husband of 63 years, David C. Hobart, by her son, Mark Hobart and his wife Sharon, by her daughter, Michele Barnes and her husband Douglas, and her grandson, Brian Barnes and his wife Michelle, by her granddaughter Kimberly Chapa and her husband Scott, and by her two great-granddaughters Carissa and Elyse Chapa, all of Houston, and by many nieces, nephews, and friends. She attended Apache High School, and graduated from Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma in 1943 with two degrees in music education. At Phillips she was May Queen in 1943 and was the president of the Tenth Muse, a social club, that year. Jeanice was a devoted and well-read Christian believer. She attended Bethany Christian Church in Houston for 56 years. She was the piano accompanist for the Prisca Aquila Class for more than 50 years, sang in the church choir, conducted several children's choirs, and directed several children's operettas. She was a past member of the Official Board of the church and held other responsible positions. She was active in local and national music organizations. She belonged to The Tuesday Musical Club in Houston, and she regularly attended Houston Grand Opera performances for many years she was a gifted opera singer in her own right. She was a life member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, of the Texas Federation of Music Clubs, and of the National Federation of Music Clubs. Her proudest achievement in the field of music was her role in the Opera In The Ozarks segment of the Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony at Eureka Springs, Arkansas. She was a member of the Governing Board of IPFAC for many years, during which time Inspiration Point has become an internationally known training base for aspiring opera performers. Many of its former students are earning fame in some of the top opera companies of the world. Often she was a voice coach at a two month summer session. She was directly involved in the recruiting function for 30 years. And she played key roles in fund raising for scholarships and in handling public relations. Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from six until eight o'clock in the evening on Monday, the 23rd of June, in the Drawing Room of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. A memorial service will be conducted at half past two o'clock in the afternoon on Tuesday, the 24th of June, at Bethany Christian Church, 3223 Westheimer Road in Houston. For those desiring, memorial contributions in Jeanice's name may be made to Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony, 16311 Hwy 62W, Eureka Springs, AR 72632, or to Bethany Christian Church, 3223 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77098.