Ruth Foye Wisener

Foye Bawcom Wisener, long-time Nacogdoches resident, passed away on August 28th, 2019, just weeks short of her 104th birthday. Born on September 26, 1915 in Houston, TX to C.S. and Katherine ‘Kitty’ Bawcom, Foye spent her youth in the Houston Heights. She graduated from Reagan High School and attended the Rice Institute, now Rice University, for two years.

While visiting cousins in Douglass, Texas one summer, she was introduced to a handsome young man who rode up on a horse. That young man was Mack Wisener, who she married in 1939. They celebrated 60 years of marriage until his passing on June 5th, 1999. Foye and Mack settled in Houston until 1978, when they embarked on a new adventure by joining their daughter, Kit, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Foye loved everything about island life, and quickly fell in love with the Hawaiian customs, culture, people, and importantly their dress of choice: the mumu. The mumu became her favorite standard outfit for the rest of her life, with her sewing many for herself and others over the ensuing decades.

On their return to Texas in 1984, Foye and Mack settled in Nacogdoches where Foye immediately embedded herself in the community through her creative talents and philanthropic spirit. But this was not new. Foye’s volunteer work had begun many decades earlier in Houston. She was an active leader within the Houston Wesley House of the United Methodist Church, where she worked with Latina women and children immigrating to south Texas, many of whom became her friends. Her creative endeavors extended to form and lead a Cub Scout troop for these children. This work eventually led to her tenure on the board of the Houston Methodist Women’s Association. After her move to Nacogdoches, Foye became a 25-year member of the Nacogdoches Medical Center Volunteer Auxiliary. Again, her creative talents shined as she filled the hospital gift shop with her handmade silk flower arrangements.

Foye was a good friend to many - if you were ever her friend, you were always her friend. She was a treasured wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

She is survived by son Jim Wisener and wife Nancy of Houston and daughter Kit Lucena of Prescott, Arkansas; grandson Devin Wisener and wife Jill of Houston; grandson Neil Wisener of Houston; grandson Nate Lucena of St. Louis, Missouri; grandson Shayne Lucena of Hawaii; great-grandsons Jake and Carson Wisener of Houston, Kai Lucena of Rusk, and Trey Lamarco of Hawaii; and innumerable family and friends around the world.

Friends and family are invited to a visitation from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 30, 2019, at Cason Monk-Metcalf.

Services for Foye will be held on Saturday, August 31, 2019, at 12 noon at Cason Monk-Metcalf Sunset Chapel in Nacogdoches, Texas officiated by Rev. Rick Anderson. A private burial will follow at Douglass Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, and to honor her legacy of giving, the family would appreciate donations in Foye’s name to the Volunteer Auxiliary at the Nacogdoches Medical Center.

Arrangements are under the direction of Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors, Nacogdoches.