Mary Cornelia Patrick

Mary Patrick was born Mary Carnelis Wagley to Javer and Maggie Wagley on February 26, 1918 in Daniel Belview Community just outside of Crockett, Texas. She never knew her father, as he passed away in October 26 of 1917, 5-months before she was born. Not able to financially care for Mary, her mother's partents – Grandpa and Grandma Wolf – took her in as an infant where she was loved and provided for. Grandpa Wolf was a Farmer, who also had a Saw Mill and a Syrup Mill. Life was hard for most during those years, but Mary knew no shortage of love. After an aunt passed away, Grandpa and Grandma Wolf took in her 3 children – all boys! Her childhood days were filled with walks in the woods and playing with her 3 cousins. Mary states, “Many important lessons were learned from living on that farm that has helped to carry me through life. We didn't have books to read like we have today, so we read the Bible and I learned at a very young age that the love of God is the most blessed thing.”

In the summer there was preaching under a Brush Arbor built in woods. (The REAL thing and not just the kind we sing about in some old hymn, today!) It was there, at one of those summer services that a little 8-year old Mary knelt to pray under that Brush Arbor on Hickory Creek Road and asked Jesus to be her Savior. She recalls, “I was baptized in a water tank behind our house that very evening!”

Faith in God was something Mary's grandparents held to be an important thing. So much so, that Grandpa Wolf set up a place under the keel of his Saw Mill on Sunday mornings so the children around the nearby farms could have Sunday School. Mary recalls, “Miss Lucy Hale was our teacher. She rode her horse each Sunday morning to teach us children. One thing that sticks out in my mind was an assignment that she gave us. We were to memorize a Bible verse by the next Sunday morning. I looked through my New Testament to find an easy verse. I came across John 11:35 - “Jesus wept.” How clever I thought I was. I may have been, but Miss Hale turned that little verse into a whole big lesson for us children that morning, and I felt very near to the heart of Jesus.” After a time, grandpa gave land for a church to be built on and furnished the lumber from his Saw Mill to build it with. The church blessed the whole farming community, as families from all over came together to worship and learn about God each Sunday.

Learning about God's love wasn't the only thing Mary was diligent about. She also did well in school. Winning a Spelling Bee in the 5th grade sent her on to the State Competition. During those years the 9th grade was the highest level that was provided for them to go to. In February of her 9th grade year, Mary, now a 16-year old young woman, left school to marry her love, J.B. Patrick. They were wed on February 17, 1934 in the Houston County Courthouse of Crockett, Texas. Mary says, “We had 54 wonderful years together, until he went to be with our Lord in 1988.” (Mary's mother also married, again, and from that union she was blessed with 5 half-sisters and 3 half-brothers.) Mary states, “Even though I didn't finish school, I have been blessed with a sharp mind and the good common sense to run a business, keep books, and many other things.”

In July, 1938, J.B. And Mary moved to the Houston area. They lived in Manchester, near the Houston Ship Channel. In 1946 they acquired South Houston Washeteria. In 1947 they moved to South Houston where they maintained this business for 25 years. In 1967, they opened Patrick's Print Shop and for several years ran both businesses. (Although they are now used for other things, the buildings for the Washeteria and the Print Shop can still be found along Spencer Highway.)

In 1952 they began attending the First Baptist Church of South Houston. Mary recalls the Sunday that J.B. Went forward during the time of invitation to accept Christ as his personal Savior, “I was so overjoyed that I followed him down the aisle. Even though I already knew Christ as my Savior and had been baptized as a child, I chose to be baptized with him on May 4, 1952.” She continues, “Our lives have been blessed many times over from this church. J.B. Was always willing to do for the church, especially after we acquired the Print Shop, assisting in needed ways. I taught younger children in Sunday School for some years and loved every minute of it.”

In August 10 of 1956, the Patrick's bought a house at 219 Weldon Street in South Houston, where she still lives, today. A lifetime of memories has been made in this neighborhood, and as the family grew, so did the special times all the more. Wonderful neighbors have been a part of their lives, there – the Brumley's, the Gray's, the Harris', the Sharps, the White's, the Thompson's, the McManner's, the Thornton's, the Jacobson's, the Halferty's the Johnson's, the Davis', the Beeson's, and many more. Mary remembers, “We watched their children grow up and they watched ours. Most have moved to other places yet still many continue to stay in touch and bless my life. I continue to be invited to family events and taken out for dinner, shopping, and more.”

There are also many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws that have brought much joy and good times through the years. “As I sit around my little house, things come to mind to reflect on. When I feel lonely or down from time-to-time, I believe God blesses me this way. I thank Him for each member of my family and I am thankful I have enough love for every one of them.” Mary says.

Mary and J.B. Had 3 children – Loretta, Reginald, and Randy. Together, they have blessed the Patrick family with 8 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild. Being a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a great grandmother, and a great-Great-grandmother – there have been and are many that need to be loved. They each have brought much joy and many memorable times into her life. So much, that it would take several large notebooks to write them all down. Mary states, “It saddens me that Loretta is no longer with us, yet she left many sweet memories for all of us. I can look back and see how I've become who I am by a family that found sweetness and joy deep inside...a family that has loved me very much. What I give back to them is a lot of love, along with impressing on them to share themselves in unconditional ways. Learn to be eager to forgive, strive to understand each other, and always be a friend.”