Grace Bushnell Skinner

Grace Bushnell Skinner was a loving, caring, and passionate mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She was born in a small town in Louisiana named Iota. She came into this world on November 28, 1926. Born to Howard and Sophia Bushnell, she was accompanied by her siblings. Her older sister, Elizabeth, and her two brothers, Charles and Howard. She attended grade school in Iota and graduated from Iota High School in 1944. During her adolescence, she volunteered toward the war effort by taking shifts atop the town’s drug store watching for enemy aircraft. Throughout her time in Iota, she also worked in the switchyard noting the rail car numbers as the entered and left.

Shortly after graduating, Grace and her sister, affectionately known as Pat, moved from Iota to Houston. As you can imagine, it was quite shocking moving from a quiet town of just a thousand people to the such a large metropolis. While adjusting to life in the big city, Grace found a love like no other. She met her future husband, the honorably-discharged Private First-Class, Waldo Emal Skinner, Jr. Waldo, or Ed as he was known to many, valiantly served in the US Army for the duration of the war, even fighting in the battle of Anzio. Ed's company fought hard and liberated Rome. It wasn't built in a day, nor was it liberated in the same. He loved as fiercely as he fought and married her in March of 1947. The loving couple welcomed their first child, Neal Gregory Skinner in January of 1954. Two years later, their second child, Edith Noreen Skinner came to be in March of 1956.

While living as your typical nuclear family, Grace and her quartet settled into their quaint Finfrock house in Pasadena, Texas. All was well until an unknown, at the time, sickness struck. Ed was admitted in 1960 to the Doris Miller VA Medical Center located in Waco, Texas. The responsibility of raising Neal and Edith, 6 and 4 respectively, fell solely on the shoulders of Grace. She responded with an unmatched level of resilience. Forced with the reality of raising her children alone, Grace moved herself and the children back to little Iota. Her mother, Sophia still resided in the town and was able to lend a valuable hand in their rearing for the time being. While in Iota, Grace owned and operated a cafe and bar in a building her mother owned. She was a busy woman, never idling. She put herself through a vocational school and paved the way for her future careers. Continuously setting an example for those around her.

A couple of years after the move, Grace moved her and the kids back to Pasadena, as to be closer to the center Ed resided in. Unfortunately, Ed succumbed to his ailment a year after the move back to Pasadena. Ed passed on Grace's birthday in 1963, a mere week prior to the assassination of JFK. Now, truly alone with her kids, Grace came into the vocation she went to classes for. She worked two jobs tirelessly while Neal and Edith attended public school. One, as a secretary during the day, and a salesclerk at night. She continued working throughout her children's educational years. Both echoed her commitment to furthering education and enrolled in university. Neal attended Texas A&M University, where he earned a degree in nuclear engineering. Edith attended The University of Houston; she earned her degree in accounting.

In the eighties, Grace took on a new role, grandmother. First, her granddaughter Kellen was born to Neal and his wife, Scottie. A few years later, Taylor was born to Edith and her husband Larry. Finally, Brant came to be. Brant was also born to Neal and Scottie. Just like everything else in life, she excelled. She was a very loving and nurturing grandmother to the lot. Always one to celebrate birthdays and special occasions. She gleamed and proclaimed her pride for them every chance she could.

While living in Pasadena, she was a very active member of the Methodist church. She was a prominent member at Sunset Methodist Church in Pasadena. She remained active there until she moved to her house in La Porte. When she moved, she joined the First United Methodist Church of La Porte. During her tenure at FUMCLP, she garnered the position of president of the church's First United Methodist Women's chapter. Again, here, she never sat still for very long. Grace spend countless hours knitting and crocheting for those in need. Whether it be the homeless or the foreign longshoremen, she always had a something for them.

Throughout her later years, she did everything she could to keep her mental acuity intact. Constantly, you could find her doing puzzles of any kind. She loved jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, word searches, and many other forms of mental stropping. The strength of her memory lead to many interesting stories of her fruitful life. Many of which aided in forging this brief summation of such a wonderful life.

Grace Bushnell Skinner was preceded in death by her father Howard Bushnell, her mother Sophia Bushnell, her older sister Elizabeth Austin, and her two brothers, Charles Bushnell and Howard Bushnell. In addition to her immediate family, Grace was preceded by the untimely passing of her daughter-in-law Scottie Skinner and her son-in-law Larry Youngblood.

Grace is survived by her son Neal and daughter Edith. In addition, her grandchildren Brant, Kellen and her husband Nick, and Taylor and his wife Gabriela. Finally, her great-grandchildren Maria and Charlotte. Without doubt, she left such an indelible mark on the lives of those she touched. She will be very fondly remembered for perpetuity by those who she loved and those who loved her. May we all wish this wonderfully strong, resilient, caring woman an eternity of peaceful slumber.