On March 25, 2019, Berta Wallace left this world for the next, supported by her loving daughters. In her last months, Berta continued to be a presence of love and warmth to her family and to all those she spoke. For her, this wasn’t completely satisfying because her lifelong practice was to be useful and simply being didn’t seem to be enough. From girlhood on, life set her many challenges and she rose to meet every one of them with courage and increasing faith in God and Jesus Christ. Berta was born on March 29, 1926 to Charles and Annie Walzel Boeker in what was then Harrisburg, now Houston, Texas. Berta was the youngest of five. Her older sisters were Lillian and Eloise; Leon was her older brother. Another sister Edith had died at age three before she was born. Her parents had only recently moved the dairy to Harrisburg from Edna, Texas. The house where she was born on Allendale Rd. would be one of only two that she lived in. Dairying would be at the center of her life until near the end of the century. The discipline and rhythms of dairy life shaped her character. Berta could always be counted on to do what was necessary in any situation. In 1937, the first hard blow was the death of her father Charles. Her mother Annie took charge of the dairy. As always on a dairy, all hands pitched in, including Berta’s, to keep the operation running. At this point, Uncle Otto Boeker, came to live with the family. ‘Uncle’ remained on Allendale Rd until his death. Uncle took all Annie’s children and grandchildren on and was a force in all their lives. Annie was a capable manager and the dairy thrived with her leadership during the remaining Depression and coming war years. During her childhood, Berta loved her dancing and gymnastics classes – anything that had her moving. She told her daughters about how she loved to turn cartwheels in the yard. Then there was riding her horse Sonny Boy, a paint. Sonny Boy stayed with her for many years, living long enough to give rides to her oldest daughters, Pat and Bea.
Berta Lea attended Milby High School, graduating in 1943, where she played bass drum in the girl’s Drill Team. As a senior, she was awarded an officer’s rank because of her service and leadership but she continued to play the bass drum because she had the height and strength to do it well. She always spoke with pride about having chosen to do this instead of taking the position of drum major. Looking though her autograph book shows that she had lots of friends and a full social life.
On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. It was particularly frightening for Berta because she knew a young man, Dean Wallace, who was on a ship in Pearl Harbor. Dean, from Oklahoma, had started working for Berta’s mom. He joked that she had almost run him down with a pickup truck the first time she saw him. Fortunately, Dean who joined the Navy in 1941, was on a ship that left Pearl Harbor at dawn before the raid. The ship returned to Pearl and Dean only returned to the States and Houston in 1945. Dean wooed Berta long distance with eloquent love letters. The letters worked; they were engaged shortly after he returned and were married on June 29, 1946 in St. Christopher’s Church. They honeymooned with a trip to the East Coast that featured Washington, DC and Philadelphia.
The War was a challenge on the Home Front. Managing a dairy with most able-bodied men in the service meant that girls and women were asked to take on what would traditionally be men’s work. Besides continuing to milk cows, Berta had a milk delivery route: driving the truck and hefting the crates of milk to customers’ doors before she left for school and on the weekends, too. Rationing was another challenge because the dairy hands had to be fed, too. Managing everyone’s ration card was tricky.
Berta and Dean returned to live with Annie after their honeymoon and gradually Dean took over management of the dairy. Patricia Ann arrived in 1948. In 1951, Bernadine Marie was born. Also, that year the dairy relocated to Schurmier Rd. and shifted from being a retail dairy to wholesale. Cheryl Lauren joined the family in 1953. Mrs. Boeker continued to keep a close eye on how things were going, calling at least once a day, even if it was just to check on the weather. Through her twenties and thirties, Berta was an active member of the Supreme Forest Woodmen Circle along with her mother, Annie. She captained the local drill team and kept them moving with her clicker. She was elected the National Chaplain of their young women’s auxiliary. Besides monthly meetings, Annie and Berta went to the annual conventions, including trips to New York, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles. The trip to Miami included a boat ride to Havana. Both Annie and Berta loved these trips.
1954 was the beginning of many hard years for Berta. Dean had a serious heart attack, particularly scary for someone whose father died of a heart attack when she was eleven. Then in 1956 while Berta was carrying Donna Lee, she contracted polio. For a while she was paralyzed from the waist down. But she managed to reassure her daughter Pat when she came for a visit, showing off her swim suit that she used for physical therapy. Donna was born prematurely and had to have her breathing restarted several times. She was the lowest birth weight baby to survive at that point in Hermann Hospital.
Berta retuned home in December and gradually took up the work of the dairy that Dean had been carrying alone while she was gone. As Donna grew, it became clear that her birth had left a lasting impact. A diagnosis of cerebral palsy began many years of multiple trips a week to the Shriner’s Hospital for therapy along with splints and braces. Meanwhile, it became clear that Bea’s developmental delays would mean a special school with another set of trips. At one point, four girls were in four different schools. Berta made sure that each daughter had what she needed to thrive and that included hand-made dresses in whatever was fashionable. Berta rose to meet each new challenge and never asked God “Why me? She got on with what needed to be done and made sure that the cows got milked.
The economics of the dairy industry grew increasingly difficult. In the early 60’, Bert and Dean purchased a Gulf station at the corner of Cullen and Almeda Genoa Rd. After selling the station, Dean went to work for Sterling Packing and Gasket. He took on an increasingly responsible role, leaving increasing responsibility to Berta. In 1966, Berta turned 40 and Mary Ellen joined the family in October. While she came as a surprise to everyone, she soon made herself right at home in the family. The 1970’s saw Dean with increasingly severe health problems. In December 1979 he had a stroke and died on the 14th. His death was a devastating blow to both Berta and all the girls. Mary was only thirteen. Berta faced this challenge like all the others. Besides continuing to manage the dairy, she kept Bea active in both MHMR activities and Special Olympics. Mary was a multi-sport athlete at Mt. Carmel High School and went on to the track team at Rice University. Having a daughter at Rice was a long-held ambition for Berta. The dairy grew steadily smaller, but it was hard for Berta to declare it closed. She held on to one or two cows for many years. Those years after Dean worked away brought the Gonzalez family from Mexico to work on the dairy. The family became a part of the Wallace extended family. The help from Refugio and his son Rosendo kept her engaged in her yard and garden when it was no longer physically possible for her. As time passed, it became increasingly difficult for Berta to walk. At first it seemed to be just her knees but soon it was clear that something bigger was going on. Post-polio syndrome most strongly affects those like Berta who are most active after polio. She moved from using a walker to a wheelchair and electric cart. She had a van with a lift so that she could continue with her activities. She never gave up. She performed daily exercise and went to water aerobics at the Cassaboom Y where - as always - she made many friends. The van was her Meals-on-Wheels delivery truck with someone to help take the meals to the door. She became active in the Mt. Carmel Rosary Group and Generation Seniors and took many trips. She joined in the activities of the Minnetex Civic Club and the Garden Villas Garden Club. Instead of complaining, she often said how fortunate that she was to have the van so she could do so much. As grandchildren came along: Christy, Nick, Noah, Lauren, Eric, Vanessa, Christopher and Jennifer she took a strong interest in each and every one of them. Just as with her daughters, Grandma Berta expected good behavior and was always willing to share her experience and wisdom. She remembered the birthdays of the great-grandchildren: Megan, Avery, Haley, Rhys, Ronnie and Levi and knew what was up with them as well. But the blows kept coming. She was able to enjoy her 90th birthday party, but she gradually lost use of her hands as well. The last year when she was immobile and totally dependent on others were trying to her soul. Through it she continued to find joy where it was available: playing dominoes with her daughters, bingo in the nursing home. Pastoral visits from the church with Communion and Rosary with the Catholic Channel were a solace. She had a smile for everyone who came to visit her and made every visitor feel welcome and special. Berta was a role model of tenacity, resilience and seeking for joy, for all who knew her, especially her daughters. Berta’s sister Lillian Schubert, brother, Leon Boeker, and sister, Eloise Finn preceded her in death. She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law: Patricia Ann and Michael Stevens (Sandy Spring, MD), Bernadine Marie Wallace (Spring, TX), Cheryl Lauren and Brad Boothby (Pearland TX), Donna Lee and Gilbert Padilla (Spring, TX), and Mary Ellen Wallace (Houston, TX). Grandchildren: Christy Brannon Miller, Nicholas Wallace Stevens, Noah Wallace Stevens, Lauren Brannon Colvin, Christopher Dean Padilla, Jennifer Nicole Padilla, Eric Padilla and Vanessa Padilla Beckemeier. Greatgrandchildren: Megan Miller, Avery Miller, Haley Miller, Rhys Stevens, Ronnie Colvin, and Levi Stevens. The family will receive friends on Monday, April 1, 2019 from 5-9 PM with the Recitation of the Holy Rosary at 7:00 PM at Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home. The Mass of Christian Burial will on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at 11:00 AM at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church 6723 Whitefriars Drive Houston, Texas. Rite of Committal will follow at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery.
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