89R27224 EME-D
By: Landgraf H.R. No. 1031
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Family and friends will forever cherish their
memories of Mary Helen VanDeaver of Clarksville, who passed away on
March 27, 2025, at the age of 93; and
WHEREAS, The daughter of Bonnie Bell Meeks Rodgers, the
former Mary Helen Meeks was born in Paris, Texas, on December 27,
1931, and she grew up with a sister, Dorothy; she was joined in
matrimony to Charles L. VanDeaver on October 13, 1954, in a
ceremony conducted in Dallas; the couple resided in Navasota before
moving to Clarksville in 1963; they were blessed with three
children, Tommy, Gary, and Renea; and
WHEREAS, While devoting herself to her home and family,
Mrs. VanDeaver also used her gifts as a seamstress, making clothes
for her family, herself, and many other women in the community; she
eventually became the proprietor of VanDeaver Draperies, a popular
service for window treatments, and she later owned and operated
Mary Helen's dress shop; a marvelous cook, she loved to entertain
and to prepare food for events at First Baptist Church, where she
and her husband were longtime active members; she served the
congregation in numerous other capacities, and she was a member of
the Order of the Eastern Star; and
WHEREAS, Through the years, Mrs. VanDeaver's treasured
family grew to include 6 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren;
she and her husband shared a fulfilling relationship of 52 years
until his passing in 2007; and
WHEREAS, Mary Helen VanDeaver lived a full and generous life
surrounded by those she loved, and they will forever carry her close
in their hearts; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Mary Helen
VanDeaver and extend sincere sympathy to the members of her family:
to her children, Tommy VanDeaver and his wife, Linda, Gary
VanDeaver and his wife, Pam, and Renea Thomas and her husband, Ken;
to her grandchildren, Jody and Heath VanDeaver, Kacey Launius,
Sarah Curtis, Melanie Mullins, and Katelyn Fibich; to her
great-grandchildren, Chloe, Camden, Wesley, Lawson, Ian, Abigail,
Loralie, and Zayleigh VanDeaver, Jake and Lydia Curtis, Evian
Pirtle, Clara, Suzanna, and Nevill Launius, and Eleanor Mullins;
and to her other relatives and friends; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Mary Helen
VanDeaver.