Herbert Jean Malonson

Herbert Jean “Peaches” Lewis Malonson, aged 86, departed this earth for heaven on December 10, 2023. She was born on May 22, 1937, to Mr. Bernice Valmore Lewis and Rosa Lee Duckless at the Houston Negro Hospital. As a baby, her mother’s friend remarked that, “She looks just like a little Peach”, and the name stuck! Henceforth, she would always be known as Peaches to family and close friends, most having no clue as to her real first name. In school, she listened to many jokes about her birth name, and learned to defend herself verbally in clever, artful, and skillful ways, without cursing . She attended Mabel B. Wesley Elementary (Holland Heights), Harper Jr. High (On Center St), and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School (4th Ward) in 1955, where she was voted Most Beautiful Girl by her classmates.

After High School, she went on to matriculate at Prairie View A & M University for her freshman year, before returning to Houston and enrolling at Texas Southern University. She graduated from TSU in 1960, on her birthday, with a Bachelor of Science in Business, cum laude, with a specialization in Business Education, and became a teacher. Her first teaching job was at Harper Jr. High, before moving on to M. C. Williams High School on Knox St.

On June 13, 1964, at St. Monica Catholic Church, she married Sidney Malonson, I. Soon afterwards, she moved away from Houston and took a break from teaching. With her husband in the U. S. Navy, in the next few years, she would move to Washington D. C., Naples, Italy, back to Houston during the Vietnam War, and on to Oakland, California, after Sidney returned from Vietnam. The family would then settle in the Bay Area, and soon afterwards Peaches returned to the classroom, where she taught for 34 years in the California school system. She enjoyed teaching for many years at the Hayward Adult School in Hayward, California, impacting generations of students in their quest for continuing education. She primarily taught accounting, typing, computer programs, and other business related subjects. Peaches believed in working out to keep her body strong, often waking at 5 a.m. to exercise before going to work. She was a lifelong member of the Catholic Church and served in various capacities. She taught Sunday School over the years and faithfully served as an EMHC (Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion). She loved to sew, and was basically an amateur seamstress, creating just about every dress she ever wore. She also enjoyed gardening and taking care of her tomato plants, as well as canning peaches and apricots from some of her fruit trees. A lemon tree provided year-round lemons for her favorite lemonade.

Peaches is survived by; her two sons, Sidney II (wife Jeanette), and Bernie (wife Elena); and her sister, Rose Mary. She leaves behind two grandchildren, Anna Jean, and James Gabriel. She was predeceased by her husband Sidney, both parents, and her sisters Barbara, and Bernice aka “Susie”. She leaves behind a host of loving cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends from the east to the west coasts. May she eternally rest in heavenly peace!

A visitation for Herbert "Peaches" will be held Wednesday, December 20, 2023 from 9:45 AM to 11:00 AM at St Monica Catholic Church, 8421 W Montgomery Rd, Houston, TX 77088. The funeral services will immediately follow at 11:00 AM. The committal will be held on Thursday, December 21st, 2023 at 11:00 AM at Houston National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77038.