Mary Sue Zemanek

Mary Sue Gann was born in Tom Bean, Texas to Ernest and Ola Lee Gann on July 30, 1920. She was the oldest of three children. The family lived on a farm outside of Tom Bean during Sue’s early childhood. She frequently talked about picking cotton, the abundant garden they had and how they literally lived off of the grid with no electricity. The family eventually moved into town where her father ran the telephone company and worked on other interesting entrepreneurial adventures. Church was an integral part of their lives and they attended Tom Bean Church of Christ. Her father was the song leader and an elder at the church.

Sue graduated Salutatorian from Tom Bean High School and attend North Texas State College in Denton for one semester before returning to help the family back home with finances.

Sue met her future husband, William Charles Zemanek, on a hayride and they were married in 1942. After they married, they lived in Frederick Oklahoma where Bill was stationed with the Army Air Force. When the war ended in 1945, they moved to Houston and built their home in West University in 1946. They had two children, Fran and Marianne. The West U house was home but weekends were spent at the small cabin Bill built at Pine Lake in Montgomery or at the Zemanek family farm in Fairchild, south of Rosenberg, so the family lived the best of both city and country lives. Church remained an integral part of life and Bill and Sue were founding members of the Bellaire Church of Christ. Bill passed away in 1988 and Sue remained in West University until her house flooded during Tropical Storm Allison, forcing her to move to a townhouse in the Westchase area. The furrows dug by her fingernails in the street attested to her reluctance to leave her West U home.

Sue was quiet and small in stature but had unbelievable strength, courage and an occasional stubborn determination which helped her accomplish much in her lifetime. She was always willing to sacrifice her own needs to help others. She worked at the original Sears store in Houston and quit working to raise her children. When her children were older she took a part time holiday job at Joske’s as a floor salesperson and she retired 25 years later as the insurance benefits administrator for the store. She was very creative and helped her family live comfortably on a sometimes limited budget. Her interests in sewing, cooking and gardening helped provide a wonderful home for her family. She and Peggy Beard, her friend of 68 years, had an interior decorating company called Pegasues. The two of them had many “Lucy and Ethel-type” adventures together which evolved into stories that have entertained many throughout the years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother William Gann, and her husband Bill Zemanek. She is survived by her brother Joe Gann, her daughters Fran Neahusan and Marianne Zemanek, four grandchildren - Chris DeFiori, Cassie Daniel, Kim DeFiori, and Kelly Greene, and three great grandchildren - Ava and Mia DeFiori and Peyton Daniel. And last but certainly not least, she is survived by Peggy Beard her honorary sister of 68 years.

Sue was loved by all and will be greatly missed.

We offer a special thank you to the caring staff at Brookdale Shadowlake and Brookdale Hospice. You all helped make Sue’s final years special and comfortable.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Boys and Girls Country in Hockley, Texas.

https://boysandgirlscountry.networkforgood.com/