Helen Focht Reeburgh

SERVICES: Memorial services will be at 1:30 PM Thursday, March 5, 2009, at the First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Kenny Rigoulot, pastor, officiating. Cremation and arrangements are by Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors.BIOGRAPHY: Helen Focht Reeburgh was born June 26, 1915 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She attended the University of Oklahoma and Lamar University in Beaumont where she earned degrees in English and Studio Art. She married Scott Leverett Reeburgh, Jr. on April 4, 1936 in Oklahoma City. He preceded her in death on Dec. 18, 1954. She had been a resident of Port Arthur from 1936 until 2003 when she moved to Pampa.Mrs. Reeburgh was truly a Renaissance woman of her time in the way that she raised and educated her three children and participated in their activities. She was a communicator, serving as a correspondent and then a columnist to the Beaumont Enterprise and later to the Port Arthur News. Her columns are archived in the Texas Library System chronicling 30 years of civic history of Southeast Texas from the 1960's through the 1980's. She was an elder in the former Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Port Arthur and was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Pampa. She was honored as the 1963 Department Club Mother of the Year and as the 1982 Quota Club Woman of the Year in Port Arthur. Helen was a 75-year member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority and was a P. E. O. in Port Arthur and in Pampa. In her later years, she expressed her creativity in watercolors and enjoyed specializing in painting rooftops. She also loved her travels. Mrs. Reeburgh was also preceded in death by her parents, Ferdinand and Lillian Hamilton Focht, and a sister, Laura Focht Morgan.SURVIVORS: 1 son: Dr. William S. Reeburgh and wife Carelyn of Irvine, CA; 2 daughters: Margaret R. Williams and husband Robert of Pampa and Dr. Laura R. Keller and husband Dr. Thomas Keller of Tallahassee, FL; 7 grandchildren: Scott Reeburgh and wife Lori of Vancouver, WA; Nancy Bacon and husband Scott of Boring, OR; Peter Reeburgh and wife Cheri of Golden, CO; Laura Williams McCavit and husband Todd of Dallas; Richard Williams and wife Mamie Broadhurst of Oak Park, IL; Sarah Haney and husband Matt of Jacksonville, FL; and Steven Keller of Tallahassee, FL; 9 great grandchildren: Jack and Claire Reeburgh of Vancouver, WA; Jonathan and Nicholas Bacon of Boring, OR; Bryce and Torrey Reeburgh of Golden, CO; and Ava, Luke, and Tessa McCavit, all of Dallas; nieces: Lillian Morgan Cox of Oklahoma City; Elizabeth Morgan Reece and husband Forest of Tulsa, OK; and other nieces, grand nieces, and grand nephews.MEMORIALS: First Presbyterian Church Book of Remembrance, 525 N. Gray, Pampa, TX 79065 or Meredith House, 812 W. 25th St., Pampa, TX 79065.