Evelyn Audine Loftin

Neno was the most incredible woman I have ever met. She was stronger than anyone I've ever known. Born on a cotton farm in Aquilla, Texas in 1926. She was raised in those cotton fields with her 8 brothers and sister, and knew poverty and backbreaking labor from a young age.

That hard work didn't stop in the fields, she carried to the basketball court where as a forward she led the Aquilla girls basketball team to three consecutive state championships in 44, 45, & 46 - two of those years she was all-state MVP. Her hoop skills would lead a scout to meet her in the middle of a cotton field to ask her to play professionally. Her dreams were squashed when she was hit by a drunk driver the day before she was supposed to report.

She didn't let her story end there. That accident brought her to Fort Worth — the place she always dreamed of living. There she met her first husband, who she would have 4 children with.

In 1964, she knew she couldn't stay — and at a time when women couldn't have a bank account much less get a loan — she struck out on her own. With her four kids in tow she got a divorce and opened up a restaurant. For 32 years she served up the best CFS and burgers Magnolia Ave has ever seen. It was there at Biff's she would meet Tom, the love of her life who spent the next 53 years bossing around.

She was fearless, and I don't say that because she boldly defined the norms of the time. No, she was fearless because she liberally used aquanet while smoking a Benson & Hedges.

Her personality was the only thing bigger than her hair. She loved to laugh and had a mischievous sense of humour. Neno found a reason to laugh in every situation letting the world get a glimpse of her 10,000 watt smile. That woman loved a good time, she didn't miss an opportunity to sing, dance or sneak off to Vegas for a couple of days.

The only thing she loved more than living life to the fullest was her family her Dallas Cowboys. Her four kids were her world, she was fierce and loyal mama and worked her fingers to the bone to give them so much more than she had. "I've never whooped a grandkid yet, but today might be that day," was enough to straighten a rag-tag group of grandkids right up. She wasn't one to say "I love you," but when you needed someone in your corner, she was the first to show up and she always made sure you had your favorite meal. We couldn't have asked for a better role model, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and Sega two-player mode partner.

She survived her husband, all of her siblings, all of her friends, one child and one grandchild. I have no doubt she was welcomed home with open arms by her friends and family and immediately organized a poker game and cracked open a Busch tall boy.