Martha Estelle Tanquary Durfor

Martha Estelle Tanquary Durfor October 5, 1918 – July 18, 2005 Martha was born in Memphis, Tennessee in a houseboat on the Mississippi River. Her mother died when she was two years old and she was raised by her grandmother, the first female stationmaster on the Missouri-Pacific Railroad in Lindenwood, Missouri, and by her spiritualist, invalid great-aunt, Jeannette. From this upbringing she learned and lived frugality and later tried to bestow that quality within her family, with varying degrees of success! She was an officer’s wife and lived in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Monterrey, postwar Japan, New York, finally retiring in El Paso and Corpus Christi. After he retired, she was a proud civil servant, working in various departments of the military in civilian capacities. Martha was well-known and absolutely adored for her exquisite ability to sew, creating beautiful garments for her children, grandchildren, and children of friends and co-workers her entire life. She perfected the art of copycatting popular clothing styles and her grandson wore her knock-off OP shorts for years, with no one the wiser! Her crossword puzzle mastery was legend within the family, and her aptitude for playing bridge kept her mind quick and nimble well into her eighties. She was preceded in death by her loving husband Walter, and by her brother John Edward (Eddie) Durfor. She leaves behind her loving sons and their wives, William and Mary Durfor, Dr. John and Mary Beth Durfor; her grandchildren, Sarah Durfor and Jonas and his wife Rachel Durfor. Martha was a lover of animals and her three Yorkshire terriers Maggie, Sam and Willie. The family wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to the wonderful and loving staff of Brighton Gardens, where she lived the last year of her life. They were her extended family and she loved them. She wanted her Corpus Christi physician, Dr. Randy Fuentes and his staff, to be recognized for their years of care prior to her move to Austin. Many thanks to her Girling Hospice team who offered support and care the last days of her life. The family will receive friends from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 22, 2005 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home. Memorials and guestbook online at wcfish.com