Rea Marinelle Timmons

Rea Marinelle Timmons, 83, of Dickinson, Texas, passed away on October 14, 2026. Marinelle was born on December 21, 1942, in Louisiana. She was adopted by Joseph Devore Catron of Houston, Texas, and Edith Ethel Senior Catron of St. Joseph, Missouri.

Raised in the Houston area, Marinelle attended Milby High School, graduating in 1961. Even as a young woman, she demonstrated a strong commitment to leadership, service, and community involvement. She served as secretary of Allied Youth and represented her school as a delegate to the organization’s conference in Buck Hill Falls, Pennsylvania. She was also active in Future Teachers of America, Future Business Leaders, Christian Student Union, and the Girls’ Booster Club. These early interests became part of a lifelong commitment to caring for others.

Marinelle married Charles Boyd “Butch” Timmons of Houston, Texas, on July 21, 1961. On a cold winter day in December 1962, she gave birth to their first child, Curtis Boyd Timmons, the first of seven children they would raise together. Over the next twelve years, Marinelle and Butch became the parents of three more sons and a daughter. An avid scrapbooker, Marinelle loved preserving the moments that told her family’s story. Often behind the camera, she captured hundreds of memories of her favorite subjects: her husband and children. Although she rarely appeared in the photographs herself, her love was present in the details she chose to remember and the care with which she gathered them into scrapbooks. The twinkling eyes and wide smiles captured in those pages reflected the joy she found in her children and the pride she took in being their mother.

In 1975, Marinelle suffered the heartbreaking loss of her one-year-old daughter, Lorilyn “Lori” Timmons. Exactly one year and one day later, she lost her son Charles Tyson “Ty” Timmons to juvenile diabetes. Losing two children within little more than a year brought a grief she would carry for the rest of her life. Yet even as she mourned Lori and Ty, she continued to love and nurture her boys, remaining a source of comfort and support for them. The births of her youngest two sons in the late 1970s brought new joy to the family. Her strength was in the love she continued to give her children while carrying the sorrow of those she had lost. Then, in the early morning hours of January 23, 1981, she faced another heartbreaking loss when her firstborn son, Curtis, was killed by a drunk driver. Through the grief of losing a third child, Marinelle remained a loving and supportive mother to her sons. Her determination to protect her children reached beyond her own family as she began working to spare others the heartbreak she knew so well.

That year, Marinelle founded the first Texas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), becoming a leading advocate for stronger drunk-driving laws, public awareness, and victims’ rights. In 1986, she founded the Victim Assistance Centre in Houston to provide support and advocacy for victims of violent crime. She later established the SAFE Family Programs, offering supervised visitation and monitored child exchanges to protect vulnerable children and families. Marinelle also served on the Governor’s Task Force on Traffic Safety, advocated for legislative reforms, and supported initiatives focused on youth safety and disaster relief. Her decades of community service earned her numerous honors, including recognition as a Woman of Distinction in 2003. Her work extended to other families the care and determination that her own children knew throughout her life.

Marinelle is survived by her sons, Rob (Michele) Timmons, Kevin Timmons, Shane (Paula) Timmons, and Marc (Amy) Timmons; fifteen grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, the love of her life, Charles Boyd “Butch” Timmons; her parents, Joseph Devore Catron and Edith Ethel Senior Catron; her children, Curtis Boyd Timmons, Lorilyn “Lori” Timmons, and Charles Tyson “Ty” Timmons; and her brother, Thomas “Tommie” Catron.

Visitation will be held Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at Forest Park Lawndale in the Main Chapel. Services will begin at 10:00 a.m., with burial immediately following.