Adele de Gravelle Meyer

A mother’s love is measured in patient hours of late night homework sessions, in Betty Crocker mix cups, in the worried degrees of a child’s thermometer, in the joyous details of birthday parties, school dances, first date sendoffs and last days of summer, in the endless cycle of seasons and laundry, in the years-long zigzag routes to errands, in lunches packed full and hearts packed still fuller. Our sweet mother, Adele de Gravelle Meyer, who left this world on All Saint’s Day, November 1, 2023, at the age of 78, exemplified every ideal of motherhood and wife.

Adele’s gentle spirit, infectious laughter, and selflessness drew a lifetime of friends to her court. All of whom will miss her as much as her pineapple upside down cake. Her love for family, friends, and her extended community at her beloved church Christ the Good Shepherd was boundless. In the final months of Adele’s life she was surrounded by a tirelessly caring husband and a network of caregivers and a powerful prayer group that encircled her with love, spirit and comfort.

Adele was born in Jeanerette, LA on September 8, 1945, grew into a vibrant, curious mind, and throughout her life acted as an instrument of joy to her siblings, parents and friends. She often spoke fondly of frequent family gatherings of de Gravelle and Maraist relatives. On the steps of an historic Louisiana porch she bounced baby cousins on her knee while listening to the older generation conversing in French, twisting language into the music of memory. Amongst the verdant sugar cane fields of Louisiana, Adele was beloved by all that heard her voice, and in the prime of her youth was crowned “Miss Jeanerette” complete with celebration, sparkled dress and tiara.

After high school, Adele left her small town beginnings to embrace a larger world teeming with opportunity. She earned a BA from the University of Louisiana and made a fearless move to the bustling metropolis of Houston. With the clutched fingers of her best friend Sue Richard in tow, Adele quickly found employment in a 1960s sky rise where she met her soon to be lifelong husband, Louis J. Meyer, Jr. Embracing a new start in Texas, Adele and Louis settled in a sprawling suburb to grow their family. Enthusiastically, Adele joined the PTA, engaged in bake sales, childhood enrichment, and taught bible study in her cheerful living room.

A tenderhearted soul, a true champion of her children, devoted wife, and a humble being who utterly adored the role of motherhood, Adele exemplified patience, peace, generosity and friendship. Adele’s natural gifts included clothing design, a skill she passed onto her daughter, and possessed a natural eye for fashion, décor and floral arrangement. As a member of the Society for the Advancement of Floral Design, Adele played a key part in fundraisers for worthy charities. With a passion for art history, she continued her education at community classes and later extended that interest with trips to Rome, Paris and London. She marveled at humanity’s capacity for art and good in all works, and for many years Adele coordinated meals for homeless families.

As an avid genealogist, Adele delighted in sipping on morning coffee prepared by her husband while tracing her roots across time, generations and continents, eventually amused to track her ancestry to Queen Elizabeth II of England.

No matter the personal health challenges Adele faced in later years, she always found the energy to selflessly mind after her family and those who needed encouragement or prayer.

Adele glowed brightest around her husband, children, family and friends and that circle of light surrounded her to the end. She will be forever remembered by her truly devoted husband Louis J. Meyer Jr. and children: Louis J. Meyer III, Marcel Meyer and Christy Meyer (Mark Sage). She is survived by her brother Raymond de Gravelle (Claudia), grandchildren of Christy & Mark (Sadie and Austin Meyer Sage) and her nephew Nicholas Hawkins (Sarah), and an endless constellation of family and friends. Adele was preceded in death by her two sisters Phyllis de Gravelle Fritsch and Suzanne de Gravelle, and her mother and father, James and Sophie de Gravelle.

Every child has a mother, but there was no other like our Adele. We love her endlessly.