Maxine Lois Haney

We are here to celebrate the life of Maxine Lois Haney, beloved sister, aunt, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend. She was born in Harlan Kentucky on April 23, 1940, the 2nd child of 5 to parents Lillian and James Howard. She enjoyed a simple yet rich childhood filled with all the trappings of a young girl in small town Kentucky. Eventually the family found their way to Florida where she graduated from high school and was blessed with her daughter Vicki in 1960 and her twin boys Rob and Roy in 1963. From there, the family of 5 traveled to Winston Salem North Carolina where her husband C. Allen Haney took a job as a sociology professor at Wake Forrest University, and finally moving to Houston in 1975 where she raised her 3 children and saw them through high school. It was then she decided it was time to go back to school and get her associates degree and start her career as a paralegal. Now a fiercely independent woman, we all enjoyed the irony in the night she put a nail hole in the water line above the washer while hanging a plaque that read “I am Woman” causing her garage to flood. Not missing a beat, she found work quickly, but the job took her to San Francisco where she worked for a year before the distance from her family became too difficult to continue. So she returned to Houston taking a position with the law firm of Womble and Associates. This was her second home and life’s passion until she retired in 2010. She filled her weeks with painting, photography and banjo lessons, Mary Kay sales, workouts at Curves and getting to know her grandchildren who affectionately called her Mac Mac. Never missing an opportunity to fulfill her dreams, she took the trip of a lifetime earlier this year to celebrate her 75th birthday. She spent 10 glorious days on a riverboat cruise in the Netherlands winding her way through tulips and windmills with a dear friend. Although an extremely private woman, her family was of the utmost importance. It was her mission to keep her family close and together whether it was hosting family gatherings throughout the year or traveling annually to Florida for her sister’s weekend. She instilled traditions and the importance of togetherness not only to her children but to her grandchildren as well. She had Easter egg hunts when the kids were small, attended dance recitals, softball games and football games, hosted Thanksgiving dinners and always had some crazy game to play before the grandchildren took turns reading A Christmas Story every Christmas Eve. Many things could be said about Maxine Mac Mac Haney, but her truths are her faith, her family, and her special friends. Gone but never forgotten, her amazing legacy will live on in the family she so dearly loved.

Maxine is survived by:

Daughter Vicki Lee Woodward and husband Donald Ray Woodward, Sr. of Jacksonville, Florida, and their 3 children; daughters Victoria Leanne Woodward, Lauren Michelle Woodward, and son Donald Ray Woodward, Jr., and great granddaughter Sophia Grace Love (daughter of Leanne);

Son Robert Clay Haney and wife Brenda Joyce Haney of Houston, Texas, and their 3 daughters, Tiffany Elizabeth Sosebee and her husband Ryan Sosebee, Robyn Nichole Haney, and Courtney Brooke Haney, and great granddaughter Allyson Brooke Lance, and great grandsons Clay Daniel Lance and Dean Sawyer Sosebee (all children of Tiffany);

Son Roy Curtis Haney and wife Deborah Ann Haney of Katy, Texas, and their 2 children, daughter Kaytlin Michelle Haney, and son Nicholas Ryan Haney;

Sister Marilou Gooch and husband Roy, of Lady Lake, Florida.

Sister Peggy Schonk and husband Richard, of Sanford, Florida.

Sister Edna Valentinuzzi and husband Pete, of Palm Coast, Florida.

Brother Gary Howard and wife Elizabeth, of Murphy, North Carolina.