Dr. Vicki Marlene Soukup

following a two year battle with bone marrow cancer at the age of 68.

Vicki was born November 20, 1952 in Houston, Texas as the oldest child to Jimmie

and Bettie Soukup. She graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1970, attended

University of Houston from 1970-1973, transferred to Rice University, graduating with

a B.A., cum laude in 1975. She obtained her M.A. in Clinical Pyschology from

Northwestern State University in 1977, completed her internship at the V.A. Hospital in

New Orleans, Louisiana, and subsequently worked for 8 years at the Permian Basin

Mental Health Center in Odessa, TX. She returned to graduate school at University of

North Texas in 1985, completed her doctoral internship in Neuropsychology at the

University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in 1992, and received her PhD in Clinical

Psychology with a Neuropsychology Specialization. Her post-doctoral residency was

completed at University of Texas Medical Branch, under the direction of Dr. Harvey Levin

in 1993 and subsequently, accepted a faculty position as Director of Neuropsychology

in the Department of Neurology. During her 20 years at UTMB, Vicki was awarded

tenure as an Associate Professor of Neurology, published over 30 papers in Neurology

and Neurosurgery, served on the University's IRB committee for 15 years, and trained

numerous medical students, psychology interns, and neurology residents under the

direction of her beloved mentor, Dr. John Calverly.

When Dr. Soukup retired from UTMB in May 2012, she received the two greatest gifts of

her life. She was introduced to the magic of Africa, spending the following 8 years

traveling regularly to Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and most frequently, Tanzania. It

became a joke among her traveling friends that she would only agree to leave Africa if

there was another trip planned, so that she could spend her time looking forward to her

return to Africa. One month following her retirement from UTMB, Dr. Soukup also

received a long awaited gift from the Department of Defense (DOD) Military Working

Dog Adoption program. She was selected to receive a 3 year old, fully trained

explosives detection dog, named Kantor R160. Kantor had a medical condition that

precluded him from serving in Afghanistan and as such, was deemed suitable for

civilian adoption. As a civilian, he transitioned into a therapy dog and spent several

years going to the League City Library, intently listening to dyslexic children read to him.

Kantor was the absolute love of her life, captivated all those who were fortunate enough

to witness his incredible training/ intelligence and became his handler's greatest

accomplishment in terms of fulfilling a lifelong dream of caring for and nurturing such a

magnificent partner.

Dr. Soukup is survived by her mother, Bettie Marie Soukup Dudley, her sister, Claron Salter Clark, brother-in-law, Matthew Clark, nephews Timothy Blair Salter and Scott Martin Salter, niece, Monica Garza Salter, their children, Presley Elizabeth Salter, William James Salter, and Charlotte Eloise Salter, sister-in-law Carolyn Soukup, and her children, Jacob Lamar and Lindsey Valdez, uncle, John W Palich (Sandra), aunt, Cecilia Soukup and cousins John Eric Palich (Krista), Carolyn Elaine Hewitt (Dan),

Robert Soukup, and Henry Soukup (Rhiannon) and very close friends Linda & Tom Williams.

Dr. Soukup was preceded in death by her father, Jimmie Soukup, stepfather Douglas

Bruce Dudley, brother, James Brian Soukup, maternal grandmother, Libbie Anna Toupal

Palich, maternal grandfather, John Palich, paternal grandmother, Victoria Urban Soukup

and paternal grandfather, Jim Soukup.

Vicki will be buried next to her dad, Jimmie Soukup and brother, James Soukup. In lieu

of flowers, it is her expressed wish that donations be made to the Make a Difference Organization (dttmado.org/donate) in Eastvale, CA, a nonprofit corporation designed to provide educational funds for the children cared for by Pete and Charlotte O'Neal in Arusha, Tanzania.

Visitation will begin at 1:00pm Monday, April 5, 2021 and Memorial services for Vicki Soukup will be held at 2:00 pm at Forest Park Westheimer Funeral Home & Cemetery, 12800 Westheimer Rd, Houston, Texas 77077. All are invited to a reception following the services.