Lola E. (Young) Wehring

My name is Lola Wehring. I joined this world on a cold cloudy day January 24, 1922. The wind was whistling through the pine trees on Tarkington Prairie in East Texas. Being the newest addition to the Dave and Nanny Young family, I was nice and warm in the front room by the pot-bellied stove.

My brothers Vernon and Ernest and my sisters Ella Mae, Lois and Sadie were probably in the back of the house away from all the commotion. I wasn’t the youngest of the Young family for long because I was soon followed by Hazel, Alice, Jerlene and Marvin, or Bub as we called him. Growing up on a small truck farm meant lots of chores, but with ten of us children there was plenty of help available.

Big families build strong bonds and ours was no exception. We didn’t have a lot, but really wanted for nothing. Dad would load the crop of the season (sometimes that was cotton), go to town, sell it and return with our essentials. Everyone did their part. Our family was very active in the local church, and as a result I came to know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior at an early age and He has walked with me every day since. That was the most important decision I ever made.

My brother Ernest was working in La Porte, so after high school I left home to find work and got a job waiting tables at the Three Point Café in La Porte, Texas. One day at lunch this handsome construction worker sat at my table and I thought he might be interested in me, because he left me a really big tip. Twenty-five cents… WOW! He had good looks and money too! Sure enough, a couple of days later he showed up at quitting time to get a Grapette, so I asked him for a ride home. Turns out he was in a dump truck, but like I told him “it’s better than walking”.

True Love won out, spoiler alert it lasted over 75 years!!! With a war brewing, we ran off to the Liberty Texas courthouse and got married on October 4, 1942. That’s how I became Mrs. Bill Wehring. That was the second most important decision I ever made.

So, Bill went off to the war in the Pacific and I went to work in the office at the Houston shipyard along with my sister Hazel, who had just graduated and got a job as a welder in the shipyard. We lived together till the war ended. When Bill returned from the war it was back to construction work for him and that took us from Houston to San Benito, Texas.

Our son Billy was born on Jan 1, 1949 in San Benito and so started the “Mommy Years” as in “Mommy, I need… Mommy, can you?” but I loved every minute. After a couple of years in the Valley we moved to Corpus Christi, Texas so Bill could start his own business. As Bill spent time building his business I went about the business of God, teaching Sunday School, Bible study and Women’s Missionary Union.

God has always blessed our family and shortly after settling in Corpus Christi, Pamela Sue was born on September 29, 1957. Now shopping was not just necessary, it was fun! Not that Billy didn’t indulge me the occasional matching outfit complete with hat in his younger years, but now I had a willing participant. Well that lasted until she was about five and then horses overtook Haute couture.

Bill’s business was doing well so we found ourselves moving to Austin because its centralized location made travel easier. Again, I found a new home and a new church home and continued being a wife, mother and servant of God.

My life has not been without some trials and tribulations, and one of my biggest battles began in 1969 when I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. It was tough on me, my immediate family and my extended family. Through God’s grace, some talented physicians and surgeons, and the support of my Family I not only survived, but I flourished.

I loved raising the family in Austin but as Billy and Pam got older Bill and I had always thought about returning to the country life that we had both enjoyed growing up. I now find it more than a little ironic that the things we couldn’t wait to leave in our youth took on a “rosier glow” as we aged. So, we sold the business and bought a cattle ranch in Hamilton, Texas.

This I would call our Back to the Earth Phase. Cows, hay, gardens … you know “the country life”. As expected, Bill became a “serious” farmer-rancher, because hobby and pastime were never in his vocabulary. So I made a home in the country and found a country church. Then came the icing on the cake, which was our Grandkids Jason in 1975 and Janna in 1980. Grandparenting is the dessert of life! Kids and farm life, especially Grandkids and farm life, was one of life’s great joys for me. Riding farm equipment, fishing in the tank, cows you get to name and gathering food from a fresh garden. Cooking has always been something that gave me joy and watching the Grandkids eat catfish caught in the tank and vegetables from the garden is my idea of perfection.

All good things must end and as Bill and I aged and he had some health issues, we decided it was time to reluctantly return to city life, and we choose Georgetown, Texas. To be sure Georgetown was the best transition from country to city life, kind of a hybrid city/country place. We spent our Golden Years here and it would become our final resting place, so to speak.

Then came some Breaking News - Pam was planning to get married. I was overjoyed, not just because Pam found her true love, but I got to help shop for a dress… a wedding dress!

One of the benefits of being in Georgetown was being able to watch the Grandkids grow and start families of their own. Weddings, births, school programs, weekend visits, stories and drawings for the refrigerator were all very special moments in my life. I had the opportunity to teach children’s Sunday school instead of the young couples classes I had taught in the past, and it was very satisfying. Bill’s health improved and he got back in the hay patch on a smaller scale, so he was in hog heaven. The Golden Years were indeed Golden.

The Final Five would be my best description of these past five years. There were some changes I noticed at first and like most people that have the privilege of reaching their 90th birthday I didn’t attribute them to anything but old age. I finally agreed to take some cognitive tests and sure enough I was diagnosed with Dementia/Alzheimer’s. Things proceeded kind of slowly the first 3 years and gained momentum as it went along. If I were to describe the first three years as foggy, the last two were opaquer, with some glimpses of fog.

I have some people I want to express my gratitude to and admiration for, because they definitely have a gift and a calling, and they have blessed me greatly. First of all, my Granddaughter Janna and her son Zachary for their diligence and dedication to brightening my days. To Maria for her loving and caring assistance in the early stages, and to My Angels who were truly Angels, Sue and Faye. To Uyen, Amy, Kerry and the entire staff at Tiffin House, thank you for your caring compassionate attention to my every need during my time there, and to Guiding Hospice for your assistance in my final hours.

To My Loving Husband Bill who has loved and cared for me without reservation for these past 76 years, I don’t know how you managed through these last few years. It is truly a testament to the Love we’ve shared “for Richer or Poorer, through Sickness and in Health, till Death do Us part”. I Love You! My son Billy has been my lifeline during this time, handling all the minutiae of life for me when I was not able. I believe he lovingly met my needs for many more years than I ever took care of him as a child. And my daughter Pam was a constant encourager to me during this difficult time, even though she lives far away.

Life is and has been very good for me. I have been blessed! To those who have preceded me: I am Home now. To those I leave behind, I leave my favorite verse:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ~ John 3:16

Finally, to those who might be so inclined, I would appreciate it if you would make a donations to my church, in lieu of sending flowers. Please designate it for the Children’s Ministries, because we are always just “one generation from a Godless Society”.

Crestview Baptist Church

2300 Williams Drive

Georgetown, Texas 78628