Edith Mae Honholt Masquelette

Edith was born on March 3, 1928, in a boarding house in Charlotte, Michigan, where her father was on assignment for the City of Chicago, testing milk at a dry milk factory. Edith’s debut into the world was followed five minutes later by an unexpected twin sister, Sarah. They were the first born children of Herman and Lillian Honholt, who bravely went on to fill a large house in Batavia, Illinois, with a group of five very independent, determined children. Edith was the quiet one, never to be mistaken as shy. She was a strong woman, a step ahead of her time.

Edith attended junior high school and senior high school in Batavia, Illinois, where she began pursuing her lifelong interest in music. She enjoyed playing bass in the school orchestra and in the jazz band. During this same time period, she also played bass in the Chicago Junior Symphony Orchestra and she played the piano. She graduated from Batavia Senior High School in the class of 1946.

Edith worked for a year after high school graduation in order to save money for college. In 1947, she left Batavia to attend Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, where she earned a BA degree with a double major in music and biology.

She moved to New York after Cornell to start graduate studies at Syracuse University. She was an Individual Student Dean at Syracuse, class of 1954. Her studies there, however, were interrupted when she accepted a job offer from The New Yorker magazine, where she wrote The Talk of the Town column.

In early 1957, Edith moved to Houston and began a 36-year career with the Houston Post. She first worked with David Westheimer in the TV-radio news department. When David left Houston to write novels, Edith became TV editor. As an entertainment writer, she had the opportunity to interview celebrities such as Rock Hudson, Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, Paul Newman, and James Garner. She was one of the few reporters to be granted an interview with Walt Disney.

In the 1960’s, Edith became editor of the women's news section at the Houston Post. In 1968, she joined the Tempo rotogravure magazine staff. From 1971 until her retirement in 1993, she supervised the Universal Desk.

She is proudly remembered for being the first editor to show minority faces on a Houston newspaper society page.

Edith married Frank Masquelette on 11/15/85 in Harris County, Texas. Frank was also an employee of the Houston Post, who was on the City Desk, later a Business News writer, and assistant managing editor. He died in 1991.

In 1995, Edith moved to Batavia, Illinois, where she pursued her love of gardening, traveling, and music. In 2008, Edith returned to the Houston area. She remained in Texas until the time of her death.

Edith was a lifelong member of Episcopal Church, where she volunteered as an organist and maintained the church gardens.

Edith was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Reddington Masquelette (1991), her parents Herman John Honholt (1966) and Lillian Mae Bradley Honholt Klebe (1993), her brother Bradley John Honholt (2008), her sister Nita Lee Honholt Arehns (1961), her brothers-in law Kenneth Raven (2003) and Gordon Seastrom (2007), and her nephew Steven Honholt (2004).

Edith is survived by her sisters Sarah (Sally) Seastrom from Batavia, Illinois, and Ila Raven from Willis, Texas; her sister-in-law June Honholt from Coarsegold, California; her brother-in-law Philip Abbott Masquelette (Reverend Elizabeth S. Masquelette) from Houston, Texas; and many, many nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and others who will miss her kind, calm, quiet presence.

Edith’s memorial service and burial will be held on Friday, September 2, at 10:30 am at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, The Chapel of Angels, 6900 Lawndale Street in Houston (phone: 713-928-5141).

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Edith’s favorite charity: Heifer International, PO Box 8058, Little Rock, AR 72203 (www.heifer.org), 1-(800) 5-HUNGER (1-800-548-6437). You are invited to leave written tributes and condolences for the family on our website at www.cashnerconroe.com.