Beverly Ann Moore Robinson

My Mom was born to Anna Elizabeth and T. P. Moore on September 2, 1933.  And while she was born in the middle of the Great Depression, since both of her parents worked for the Post Office, they were not as negatively affected as others.  She grew up in Houston's West End on Gibson Street right off of North Shepherd at Feagan.  She was definitely a Daddy's girl, and dearly loved her brothers Robert and Babe.  She attended Jackson Hill Elementary and George Washington Junior High, where she was a cheerleader.  She was baptized at her family's church, West End Baptist, where she was later married.  She attended Reagan High School, where she was an officer in the Red Coats and played the bugle.  Between the street cars that laced the city, and her other school activities, she and her girlfriends Minda and Delores, just to name a few, loved to shop, go to the movies, take the train to the beach, and explore all Houston had to offer.  She absolutely loved her hometown of Houston.

After graduation from Reagan, she attended Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville, where she not only met her future husband Dean who had transferred from A&M, but was also roommates with her lifelong friend and future sister-in-law Elizabeth.  While she wasn't the greatest student, she often talked about how Dad would walk her to the front door of History Class to make sure she went, and how she would leave out the back door once he was gone.  She majored in music and music was always a large part of our family story.  While she had fun in college, she often said her major accomplishment was meeting and marrying my Dad in 1953.

The newlyweds were faced with quite a few challenges between a failed business and the resultant debts and financial responsibilities which they never shirked.  They spent their early-married years in Pasadena, Katy, Spring Branch and Houston, after being stationed in El Paso for Dad's stent in the Army.  I was born in 1956 after they had been married three years, and my brother Steve followed 18 months later.  And times were pretty lean when Dad decided to go back to Sam Houston and study for a Masters degree in Education.  We packed up the 55 Chevy BelAir and headed to the married student housing apartments in Huntsville where Mom worked and supported Dad in his studies.

When Dad got a job in the early 60's teaching Special Education in the Aldine School District, along with driving the bus on the rural and unpaved roads, Mom took a job in the same school district so the four of us could go to work and school together, be together during the day and be home together each night.  It was this selflessness and focus on her family that really was a hallmark of our childhood.  Choosing to work in jobs at the schools for less pay in exchange for her being able to spend each summer with us and be at home during our formative early years.

I want to digress here to discuss my Mom's faith.  I mentioned. That she was raised in the Baptist church, but when she met Dad and was exposed to Methodism and the faith of his family, she enthusiastically embraced it and the positive, uplifting spirit of the Wesleyan tradition.  She became a lifelong Methodist and loved the church.I mention this because it has a lot of bearing on her support of Dad's decision to initially become involved in a lay role at St. Matthew's Methodist Church, and then ultimately going to work at St. Matthew's in a full time capacity that had us moving into the old parsonage on Azalea Street in Garden Oaks.  when Dad decided to attend Perkins at SMU to study Christian Education, she was in full support....I don't think really understanding that by his choice, the whole family was signing on for a very different life from that point forward, and she for the life of a minister's wife.

After three years in Galveston, Where Dad worked at Moody Methodist and Mom worked for Galveston ISD, we moved to Port Arthur in 1970 where Dad joined the staff at The Methodist Temple and mom worked for the Port Arthur Schools.  Here she was reunited with her buddy and partner in crime, Aunt Liz, and between them they planned family meals, trips to New Mexico and Colorado, and Labor Day camping trips as well as a few less than ideal ventures like the time they tried to make relish from the rock hard pears that grew in our front yard.  Some of us still bear those scars!  Sort of like a Texas version of Lucy and Ethel.

It was in 1977, when both Steve and I were away at Aggieland, that Dad had an opportunity to take a new position in Houston and Mom had the chance to move back to her hometown and start a new life.  For once she was more focused on herself thank of making the sacrifices for all of us. She took a position at Rowan Companies, where she worked for 17 years and made many friends and touched many lives that John Collins, her former boss and now Episcopal priest, will speak about later.  Bob the way, she also owned the Galleria for those years since her office was right above the mall.

When talking to Tom [Reverend Tom Pace], he asked me and my brother to recall the things that best describe our Mom.  The first was without question love of family.  She was dedicated to her family, and not just to me, Steve and Dad.  Whether it was her niece Sandra, her namesake niece Beverly, our cousin Rene', her daughter-in-laws Sandi and Jessy, she was there to mentor, advise, and provide the love and support and understanding that they needed.  She was actually the second Mom to many of our family, friends and coworkers.

She was also incredibly close to her Mom, our Mamaw, and they talked every single day.   She was there for her mom when she was widowed in the early sixties, and her mom was there for us, often providing the financial support we needed to enjoy holidays, take trips or buy clothes for school.  She lovingly took care of her mother when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and later in her life shifted her focus on family to her seven beautiful grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, becoming their Mamaw and creating great memories for them as well.

Another word that came to mind when describing Mom was selflessness.  I am not sure that either Steve or I realized just how much she and Dad sacrificed for us until we were much older.  She really never wanted to work and felt guilty for not being able to be at home like our friends' moms.  She worked because she had to, to give us the things we needed and wanted, often going with little or nothing herself.  She worked to help pay the debts from my Dad's failed business, and she worked to give us the foundation that we have used to build our own lives and careers.  She believed in us regardless of our choices, and how many times we changed our majors in college!

The last word I would choose to describe Mom is perseverance.  I think the two biggest challenges in her life were the loss of our Dad and the loss of her eyesight.  Dean and Bev went together like salt and pepper, like hand in glove.  So it was hard for her to even fathom that end of that 61 plus year partnership, an end that actually began with Dad's decline years before his death.  Nonetheless she was determined to go on, to persevere.  And when she was diagnosed with macular degeneration and could no longer see well enough to drive, she could have given up.......but she did not.   Amazingly she figured out how to use the iPad with magnification, how to order groceries, and use Amazon....and of course she found her beloved Facebook and the connection that ensued being the bridge to her friends, family, politics and the outside world.  Thankfully her universe wasn't so small any more. We once brought in a consultant to help with her loss of vision and to maker recommendations as to how and improve her situation through technology and other visual aids.  The consultant had no recommendations as Mom had already figured it out by herself.  That was Mom.



So before I close, I would like to share some special, if not random, snapshots of my mother's life and our memories with you:

Christmas baking......pecan pies, sugar cookies, sand tarts and letting us have the leftover crust to make our own creations.

Rotating Christmas and Thanksgiving between the Katy and Houston grandparents and taking the show on the road.

Mom playing the piano.....whether it be Fur Elise, That's My Desire, or her piece de resistance Babyface.

The '63 brown Ford Falcon Futura.....unairconditioned and the center of many vacations and escapades that included the thousands of birds pooping on the care and then Mom having to drive it home.

Our Pets, especially Candy the brown Chihuahua, Jolie the Poodle, Lassie the Collie, and Murphy the Scottish Fold.

Mom and Dad and church.  MYF, Sunday School, choir practice, Sunday night services, church camp, bible school, trips on the church bus.....for years that was our life and a good life it was.

Beauty shop Thursday....which meant we could go out to eat at Monterey House or El Charro.  Eating out was an extra special luxury.

Sunday dinner, which was always roast beef very well done [and I mean very well done], rice and gravy, and LeSeur peas.  Never varied.  And in Galveston it was lunch at the New Hills on the sea wall featuring fried shrimp or chicken fried steak.

Mom and Aunt Liz getting carried away in laughter. Again and again and again.

Foley's. The center of the shopping universe for Christmas, back to school, birthdays, and special occasions.  And the epicenter of the universe was downtown Foley's.....the ultimate destination.

My Mom as Big  Bev, paired with my cousin Little Bev, attached at the hip through
 their names and their complex relationship with my Aunt Liz.

Our family vacation, driving to Washington, Atlanta, Glorieta and Estes Park, El Paso, and Laredo in a Ford Falcon!  The and then there were the camping trips in the pop-up trailer that I am sure we're not as much fun for her as they were for us.

Living in Port Arthur...it is really just 90 miles from Houston?  What exactly is in boudin and why do they talk so funny?  And then there was Howard's grocery was a wonderland.

The surprise 25th wedding anniversary party that we gave Mom and Dad, where we reassembled their entire wedding party, including Uncle Webby who married them and was well into his eighties.

The houses on Winsome Lane, Willowby and Chantilly Lane, the last two being the first houses my parents actually owned since they were newlyweds.

Mom reconnecting with her brother Babe.  The family knows what a significant and beautiful thing that was for both of them.

The farm.  What a game changer that was for our family.  The farm was Dad's dream, but ended up being the central hub of our family activity for the past 27 years.  Blood, sweat, tears, and labors of loves for our Sycamore Farm.

Mom's girlfriends from work, Lori and Geema, and their monthly forays to Tony's for gossip and of course  cheese enchiladas and tea.

Tuesdays and Thursday's with Jackie and Mom, aka Momma Rob.  Hitting the beauty shop, Talbots, Krogers, Ross, multiple doctors, and often to my dismay, some IHOP or some other fine dining establishment.

My Sunday lunches with Mom.  Each time taking her to a different restaurant and part of town to broaden her horizons and give her new and varied experiences. She awaited me dress up with purse in hand and ready to go......oh how I will treasure and miss those times most specially.

Our discovery of Alexa.  What a game changer she was for her.  I swear that they actually became friends as they talked to each other so much.

And lastly, the trips to Belgium we took, especially the last two.  The first to be there for Jessy and Steve's wedding in Bruges with Dad presiding, then last year when we went to celebrate Christmas with Steve's and Jessy's family.  She relished every single moment of this experience from the first class air travel to the overnight trips to Bouillon and everything in between.



When I flew back to Houston last Thursday, I wasn't sure that she would still be there when I arrived. But I am pretty sure that she waited for my return, to give me a chance to tell her how much I loved her, to tell her what a wonderful Mom, grandmother and friend she had been.......and to tell her it was okay for her to go and be with Dad.   Then I kissed her forehead and thanked her for the million kisses she had given us all.