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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Family and friends will forever cherish their |
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memories of Mary Helen VanDeaver of Clarksville, who passed away on |
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March 27, 2025, at the age of 93; and |
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WHEREAS, The daughter of Bonnie Bell Meeks Rodgers, the |
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former Mary Helen Meeks was born in Paris, Texas, on December 27, |
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1931, and she grew up with a sister, Dorothy; she was joined in |
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matrimony to Charles L. VanDeaver on October 13, 1954, in a |
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ceremony conducted in Dallas; the couple resided in Navasota before |
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moving to Clarksville in 1963; they were blessed with three |
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children, Tommy, Gary, and Renea; and |
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WHEREAS, While devoting herself to her home and family, |
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Mrs. VanDeaver also used her gifts as a seamstress, making clothes |
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for her family, herself, and many other women in the community; she |
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eventually became the proprietor of VanDeaver Draperies, a popular |
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service for window treatments, and she later owned and operated |
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Mary Helen's dress shop; a marvelous cook, she loved to entertain |
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and to prepare food for events at First Baptist Church, where she |
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and her husband were longtime active members; she served the |
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congregation in numerous other capacities, and she was a member of |
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the Order of the Eastern Star; and |
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WHEREAS, Through the years, Mrs. VanDeaver's treasured |
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family grew to include 6 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren; |
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she and her husband shared a fulfilling relationship of 52 years |
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until his passing in 2007; and |
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WHEREAS, Mary Helen VanDeaver lived a full and generous life |
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surrounded by those she loved, and they will forever carry her close |
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in their hearts; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Mary Helen |
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VanDeaver and extend sincere sympathy to the members of her family: |
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to her children, Tommy VanDeaver and his wife, Linda, Gary |
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VanDeaver and his wife, Pam, and Renea Thomas and her husband, Ken; |
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to her grandchildren, Jody and Heath VanDeaver, Kacey Launius, |
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Sarah Curtis, Melanie Mullins, and Katelyn Fibich; to her |
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great-grandchildren, Chloe, Camden, Wesley, Lawson, Ian, Abigail, |
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Loralie, and Zayleigh VanDeaver, Jake and Lydia Curtis, Evian |
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Pirtle, Clara, Suzanna, and Nevill Launius, and Eleanor Mullins; |
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and to her other relatives and friends; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Mary Helen |
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VanDeaver. |