Meador Wilson Wigington

Meador was born the 15th of November 1952, in the Gladney Home in Fort Worth, Texas. Mrs. Edna Gladney presented Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Wilson with a wonderful newborn girl. Meador was the daughter of Eugene Clifton Wilson and Mildred Meador Wilson, her new, loving parents. Meador was raised in Houston and attended the Kinkaid Schools and Memorial High School. A lifelong Commanche, Meador adored her summers in the Hill Country at Camp Waldemar and repeatedly told the story of the ill-fated Indian lovers Guada and Lupe with gusto and a twinkle in her eye. In 1973 Meador was presented by her father to Houston society as an Allegro debutante.

Meador attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches where she met and maintained lifelong friendships; at Homecoming one year, Meador was the Apha Psi Omega Sweetheart and rode atop Norm’s bright yellow convertible. As a student, she volunteered at the Lufkin State School and continued to volunteer for many social service programs through the Junior League in Houston and San Antonio. Her code name was ‘Lydia,’ a name used privately whenever she was providing financial support. Meador was also known for extending a generous helping hand. This is something we called ‘Meador’s full employment act, we employed so many housekeepers, we had to schedule an opportunity to spread dust and track in the mud.

On Valentines Day, 1979, she wed Norman Wigington at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston. They began their married life in Alamo Heights, Texas, while attending Christ Church, San Antonio. Very quickly, and in rapid succession, she bore three sons – Clif, Colin, and Chad. All three sons were born in San Antonio and can claim generations of Texas heredity dating from before the founding of the Republic of Texas. Intensely proud of her sons, she was delighted to know them as honorable men, beloved husbands, and devoted fathers.

Meador always said her light shone brightest because she lit her candle at both ends. Often the center of revelry, Meador was a member of many organizations – The Junior Leagues of San Antonio and Houston, the River Oaks Garden Club, and the Blue Bird Circle. Her faith was strongest when it was tested and she lived her life with a complete trust in Jesus Christ, her friend throughout her life. A faithful but complex follower, Meador was at times a Methodist, a Presbyterian, an Episcopalian and Roman Catholic worshiper. She especially appreciated her role as a mentor, a Big Sister, a confidante.

An avid traveler, Meador often accompanied her parents to the Broadmoor in Colorado and on international travels to the Far East; she gamely directed her own adventures with her sons in Mexico and the Caymans. Meador repeatedly sought refuge in the many delights of sophisticated cities, Paris or Berlin, and especially the festive air of Buenos Aires. Periodic residencies in Buenos Aires were liberating for Meador, each year a new barrio and new shops. Experience taught Meador that she should never travel without a swimsuit; whether floating in the warm Caribbean or chilly Alaska, she could be found in the nearest water.

Meador has so many interests. An enthusiastic gardener, she enjoyed the world of plants that she encountered – especially the Butchart Garnes in Victoria, the jungles of Panama and the Highlands of Scotland, and, of course, Houston’s Bayou Bend where she learned patience from Bert – wait a year before you cut it down. Meador was also a keen pet collector and was often seen with birds on her head or reptiles in her lap. She kept so many pets and loved so many animals, nothing was too outrageous – hedgehogs, rabbits, sugar babies, and beautiful blue Macaws. There were always animals to be fed throughout the house – cats and dogs, turtles, iguanas, and guinea pigs.

Meador is survived by her husband, Norman, and her three sons and their wives, Clif, Colin and Grace Wigington, and Charles (Chad) and Cori Wigington. She was the proud granny to five grandsons – William and Harry, sons of Colin and Grace, and Owen, Drew and Rhys, sons of Chad and Cori. In addition, Meador is survived by her brother Gene Wilson of Montgomery, and her cousins Anne Hilbert of Lakeway and Mimi Prioleau of Houston.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from five o’clock in the afternoon until seven o’clock in the evening on Monday, the 24th of August, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A funeral service to celebrate her life is to be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, the 25th of August, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston, where the Rev. Victor J. Thomas, Rector of St. James Episcopal Church is to officiate.

The family requests that in celebration of Meador’s life, Easter attire is appropriate and encouraged.

The interment will follow, via an escorted cortege, at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions in Meador’s memory may be directed to the River Oaks Garden Club or the Bluebird Circle by selecting the link below under ‘Donations’ or to a charity of one’s choice.

We invite you to take a few moments to share fond memories and words of comfort and condolence with her family by selecting the ‘Add a Memory’ icon below in the ‘Show your Support’ section.