Ethel Mae Richardson's Obituary
Born in Bonham, Fannin County, Texas, on March 30, 1912, 2 weeks before the Titanic, Ethel Mae Wheeler, our dear and loving Mom and Nanny, certainly the matriarch and “Rock” of our family, passed away on June 14, 2015, at the very wise old age of 103. Her blessed parents were Thomas and Pearl Fletcher Wheeler. She married James Lee Harp of Gainesville, TX, in 1932, until his death in 1979. In 1982 she married George Richardson of Dallas, who passed away in 1998. She is survived by her two children, Jim Harp from Austin and Janet Harp Kale of Lake Limestone, East Texas; two sons-in-law, John Guertin of Austin and Tom Kale of Lake Limestone; three grandsons, Tommy Harp (Berkeley, CA), Tommy Joe Wall (McKinney, TX), and Tommy Don Kale (Plano, TX); three granddaughters-in-Iaw who love and appreciate her as much as her blood children do, Rachel Ostrov (Berkeley), Clair Wall (McKinney), and Diane Kale (Plano); four great-granddaughters, Lena and Amelia Ostrov-Harp, Katherine Wall, and Kelsey Kale; and two great-grandsons, Leo Ostrov-Harp and Zachary Kale. Perhaps reflective of her gregarious spirit and youthful heart, there was nothing that lit her up like being around all these youngsters. She loved living. In fact, at the age of 97, she had kidney failure, chose to undergo the rigors of dialysis 3x per week, and incredibly regained her kidney functions after one and a half years, “miraculous,” according to her doctors. Her children, Janet and Jim, were surprised that she chose to have the treatments considering her practical/realistic nature. We underestimated her will to live. What a wonderful outcome it was. Ethel always took pride in her appearance, and was known around Crestview Retirement in Bryan, TX, as “best dressed” and “best accessorized.” She especially loved shoes and costume jewelry! She was also affectionately known as “Speedy” for her ability to drive her motorized scooter quickly from meals to entertainment activities to exercise to Sunday School to bridge, dominoes, Skip-Bo, and Hand and Foot, not to mention shopping for fun items in the gift shop. It was hard to catch her at home by phone-always out and about. She said to a Bryan/College Station EAGLE interviewer at her 100th birthday party, “all I can do is be the best I can!” Mom grew up on a farm near Valley View, TX, graduated with Honors from Gainesville H.S., attended North Texas State Teachers College, now the University of North Texas, in Denton, and eloped to Durant, OK, to marry Jimmie Harp. She was immersed in church, school and civic activities, particularly in the 40’s and 50’s, serving as PTA president several times during her children’s school days in Grand Prairie, TX. She met George Richardson, a kind and generous man, at a Senior Dance in Dallas. He was immediately smitten by the lovely and gracious Widow Harp. Her grandson Tommy Harp says “she was an elegant woman inside and out.” George sent her flowers daily and refused to be discouraged by her seeming disinterest in dating him or any other man. She finally gave in, much to all our surprise. The entire family gathered from far and wide for the ceremony at her long-time home church First Christian of Grand Prairie, the bride wearing a stunning dress designed especially for her by her twice Coty Award nominated daughter-in-law Holly Harp. She made it known some time ago that she wanted to wear this blue/purple matte jersey with elaborate pearl trim to her grave. Ethel moved to Bryan after George died to be close to Janet and Tom, who was then Vice-Chancellor for Finance of the Texas A&M System. Tom, her devoted son-in-law, took care of Mom’s assets as if they were his own, or better, A&M’s! Son Jim lived in New York City then, but moved to Austin in 2010 to slow down a bit and to be able to spend more time with his very special mother. She lived through a lot of history, both wonderful and difficult, including eighteen presidents, two world wars + five other wars, the Great Depression and the Recession, the Cold War, the tragic assassinations of the 60’s, the moon landing, the collapse of Communism, and the election of Barak Obama. She told her interviewer three years ago at her 100th birthday celebration that she is hopeful that young people will remember the Golden Rule and be thoughtful toward others. “ I hope and pray that we can get back to basics of being a Christian, and being kind to each other instead of all this fussing and fighting,” That was indeed our Nanny and our Mom. Enough gratitude cannot be expressed for the loving care our mother received from the staff of Crestview Retirement Community. A memorial celebration of Ethel’s long and active life will be held at Crestview, 2505 Villa Maria Road, Bryan 77802, on July 11, 2015 at 2:00 PM. A graveside service will be held at Restland Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas 75243, Saturday, June 20, 2015 at 1 pm. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, at Restland Road, Dallas, TX 75243. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Crestview Benevolent Fund, ATTN. Donna.
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