Mary Lelia Saunders

Mary Leila Crain Saunders, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away peacefully early Sunday, the 22nd of January 2012, at The Methodist Hospital of Houston after a courageous three-month battle with cancer. She was born on the 23rd of March 1937, in Houston, to Faye and Wm. Horace Crain. She always considered Houston home. Except for college and her husband's five years in the US Air Force, she resided in the same house for over seventy years, from 1941 until her death.

A 1955 graduate of Lamar High School, she studied elementary education at The University Of Texas in Austin for three years. She was a member of Spooks and president of Delta Gamma Sorority. She met Walter Asa Saunders Jr. at The University of Texas in 1958 and they were married in Houston five months later. During the next five years, she lived in Missouri, Texas and South Carolina. Their first son, Walter III, was born in Waco in 1959. In 1963, they returned to her childhood home in Houston for the rest of her life. Their second son, Crain, was born in 1965.

She was an active member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church and its Candlelighters Sunday School class for over forty years. She was a den mother, a neighborhood civic association officer, and an active volunteer. In the 1960s she became interested in decorative arts and history. She joined the Harris County Heritage Society becoming a docent, head of docents and treasurer. In the 1990s she became a proud docent at Bayou Bend House and Gardens and remained an active or sustaining docent until her death. She really loved Bayou Bend and its staff and docents and made many wonderful and supportive friends there. Mary Lelia was also a member and past president of the Houston Delta Gamma Alumni. With her husband, she was a member of the following University of Texas organizations: Ex-Students, Chancellors' Council, and the Longhorn Foundation. She saw over two hundred Longhorn football games. She enjoyed traveling around the US and the UK, especially trips with Barry and Jo Frances Geenlaw.

When her oldest son left for college she decided to return to college. She received her BBA degree from the University of Houston-Downtown and subsequently became a practicing CPA. Some of her happiest years were when working for Candace Wilkinson's CPA practice. She loved Candy and the times they shared. Mary Lelia was a member of the AICPA and other professional organizations. After retiring she went back to work at St. John's School in the admissions and college counseling departments.

She is survived by Walter, her husband of fifty-three years; two sons, Walter III and his wife Peggy, and their children: Travis, Emily, and Lauren all of Atlanta, Georgia; and Crain, and his wife Lisa, and their children: Aaron, Anna, and Aidan all of Princeton, West Virginia. Her adored cat, McGee, and her dog, Colby survive her also. The family would like to thank her doctors, nurses and other caregivers at The Methodist Hospital. They helped make an unbearable situation bearable.

A memorial service is to be conducted at two o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday, the 4th of February, in the sanctuary of St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 5501 Main Street in Houston, where Rev. Dr. L. James Bankston, Senior Pastor, and Rev. Shelli Williams, Associate Pastor, are to officiate. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent Activity Center.

In lieu of customary remembrances, and for those desiring, donations may be directed to the St. Paul's Methodist Foundation, 5501 S. Main St. Houston, TX, 77004; Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens, in memory of Mary Lelia Saunders, P.O. Box 6826, Houston, TX, 77265; or to an animal care organization of one's choice.