Velma Jean Solar

She was born on August 1, 1937, in Buffalo, Putnam County, West Virginia.

Pliny, West Virginia—nestled along the Kanawha River in the Appalachian hills—was Velma’s first home. In the 1930s and ’40s, life here was demanding but straightforward, shaped by the hum of New Deal projects, the clang of river barges, and the steady work of nearby factories. The rhythms of the town—church bells on Sundays, neighbors talking from front porches, children chasing each other through fields—formed the backdrop to a childhood marked by hardship and hope.

Velma was the sixth of eight children, raised in the shadow of the Great Depression. Her father, Emery, was a farmer with little formal schooling; her mother, Virginia, was a skilled cook, housekeeper, and family bookkeeper. They instilled in their children the unshakable values of hard work, sacrifice, and faith. The family knew loss early—once losing their home to fire—and rebuilt only through the kindness of neighbors. It was a life where new dresses came only at Christmas, shoes were a treasured gift, and the rare treat of a pint of ice cream after a weekly grocery trip could light up the whole house.

Velma’s days began before dawn, when she milked 80 cows alongside her siblings, and again in the evening every season. She walked long distances to the school bus stop; her father having built a small shed to shield them from snow and wind. Education came in a one-room schoolhouse where 20 children learned together, their hot lunches cooked on a potbellied stove in the classroom. These years taught her resilience and the quiet dignity of doing without so that others might have more.

When Velma was 15, a young Navy veteran named Henry Solar visited his sister next door. To Velma, he was exotic—a “city boy” who captured her attention and her heart. They wrote letters, building a connection that distance could not diminish. At 16, Velma left West Virginia for Ypsilanti, Michigan, after graduation. She found work as a telephone operator in a boarding house full of young women. The city was alive with postwar energy, but she never stopped thinking of Henry.

On June 17, 1955, at just 17 years old, Velma married Henry in Houston, Texas. From that day forward, their lives became one long act of shared perseverance. She worked so that he could study, and together they carved out a better future, eventually seeing him graduate from the University of Houston.

They were not perfect, but their mistakes were never born of malice—only of love. They gave to their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren the way a river nourishes the land—constantly, generously, and often without saving enough for themselves. Comforts that might have been theirs were passed over so those they loved could stand with more solid ground than they had known themselves. Always in the hope that they would achieve more through the example and opportunities they provided.

Velma’s life was driven by purpose rather than ease. She faced each challenge with determination and embraced every moment of happiness with gratitude. She was preceded in death by her parents, her son Rodney, her daughter Mary Beth, and several siblings. She is survived by her husband of 70 years, Henry Solar; her daughter, Janna Solar; her son-in-law, Rudy Trevino; her grandchildren, Sam (Blu), Derek , Hailey, and Brittany; and her great-grandchildren, Jarron and Prescott (Hailey), and Gabriel, Abigaile, Alyssa, and Gavin (Sam).

Her legacy lives not only in the family she raised but also in the values she attempted to instill deep in their lives—resilience, devotion, and the quiet heroism of putting others first. Although she is gone, the current she and Henry set in motion will continue to flow for generations.

Memorial Services will be at 10:30 AM Saturday September 27, 2025 at Grace Community Church

701 Kitty Hawk Rd., Universal City, Tx 78148. Light refreshments will be available.