Marion Gerhart

85 years old. Marion was born on September 13, 1932 in Paris, Texas to parents, Gustav and Lucille Fladger who owned and ran the Honey Grove Signal Citizen until 1970. She graduated from Honey Grove High School in 1950 and from Southern Methodist University with a degree in music in 1954 specializing in violin. While at SMU, she was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority and was one of the first women to be part of the SMU marching band. During a summer work opportunity at Yellowstone National Park, Marion met US Navy Veteran and seasonal park ranger, Bob Gerhart. They married on September 5, 1954 in Honey Grove, Texas. She had three sons, Charles Fladger, Robert Arthur, and John Stewart. She actively supported her sons in all activities including Boy Scouts and the Conroe High School Band Boosters. Marion was very involved with music and the church throughout her life. She began the first bell choir in Montgomery County in 1963 at the First United Methodist Church which evolved into the high school girls bell choir. She retired from the bell choir in 1977. She would also perform as the organist for other local churches and weddings in the area. She served as the Chairman of the Worship Committee at Conroe First United Methodist Church, was the President of Conroe Performing Arts Society helping to establish the Conroe Symphony, a President of the Conroe

Service League, and was a representative for Texas in the American Cancer Society at the national level. She maintained a lifelong interest in needlepoint attending over 20 national needlepoint guild conferences. She was named the Montgomery County Contemporary Woman of the Year in April 1973 by the Conroe Courier. Marion is survived by her husband and her two sons, Robbie and Stewart, her two daughter-in-laws, Sarah and Caroline, and her four grandchildren, Bryan, Emily Alice, Reed, and Kayla. The funeral will be held at the First Methodist Church in Conroe at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, March 14. She will be buried in Honey Grove, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to McKenzie United Methodist Church in Honey Grove, Texas or to the First Methodist Church in Conroe.