Wilbern Terry Kinsey, 91, of Houston, TX, passed away on August 18, 2021. She was born in Bartlett, TX on April 17, 1930 and raised in Rockport, TX. Terry graduated from Rockport-Fulton High School and received her Bachelor of Science degree from Corpus Christi State University, now Texas A & M University at Corpus Christi. She was married to Howard Kinsey on June 11, 1948.
Terry loved her family and stayed home for her children through most of their school years. She loved camping and going to the beach to collect shells and enjoy nature. She had lots of shells! When the children were younger, they’d get up on a Sunday morning and ask to have breakfast at the beach, Padre Island. She always had a breakfast box mostly ready and everyone had a job for breakfast to prepare for on the beach. They would have breakfast on the beach, clean up, and still be at church for the 11:00 worship service.
She was a den leader for her son’s Cub Scout pack, an Explorer assistant advisor, and a Camp Fire Girls leader for her daughter’s various Camp Fire groups. When her children were in junior high and high school, Terry started college to become a teacher. Terry was a media specialist, librarian and teacher at Cole Elementary and Kostoryz Elementary in the Corpus Christi ISD for many, many years.
She was very active at Wesley United Methodist Church in Corpus Christi, teaching Sunday School, volunteering, preaching as a Lay Speaker, reading stories in the Punkin Patch, and leading the Prayer Warriors group. She was active in the United Methodist Women, serving a term as President and other positions. She was also "Grandma" to many, many children and teens at Wesley. She loved to pray for other people, so much so that she also gathered prayers and became intercessory prayer leader for a nationwide group called ChickTime, a grass roots movement established to support and encourage women pursuing their passions. They called her Mama Terry. She liked helping others and volunteered her time in many organizations. In volunteering at the Corpus Christi District Office for the United Methodist Church, Terry was awarded the District Superintendent’s Award.
In 2014, Terry moved to Houston to be closer to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard Kinsey, her parents, Mabel and Bob Hamblin, and her sister Rosa Faye Hunt. She was survived by her son, Alan Kinsey and wife, Deborah, her daughter, Kay Kinsey Dominguez, her grandchildren, Colin Kinsey and wife, Kendall, Cade Kinsey and wife, Ashley, Chris Dominguez and partner, Kait Spong, her great-grandchildren, Austin Kinsey and Graysen Kinsey, her sister, Joy Lewis, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Graveside Service will be held at 2:00PM, Saturday, October 2, 2021 at Memory Gardens Funeral Home and Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association or to The National Kidney Foundation.
