Theta Dell Cessac's Obituary
Theta Dell Cessac, 81, passed away Monday, November 16, 2015. She is preceded in death by her parents, U.B. and Gladys Morgan; brother, Billy Morgan and granddaughter, Sophie Renardet. Theta is survived by her loving husband of 60 years, Dr. Fred Cessac; sons, Phil Cessac and wife, Linda, Dane Cessac and wife, Honour; daughter, Mollie Renardet and husband, Dimitri; brother, Horace Joseph Boudreaux and wife, Lucy; sister, Francis Strickland and husband, Bud; grandchildren, Dupree, Rhea, Morgan, Preslie, and Braden; and a host of other family and friends.
Theta was born in Pearland, Texas on May 21, 1934 at the Miller Hotel. Her family was staying there while her father worked on building Telephone Road. She started first grade in Louisiana, and was the only child in the class that didn't speak French. The following year she moved back to Texas. She started dating her neighbor, who lived across the street from her, Freddy Ray Cessac, at a parade in their hometown of Nederland, Texas at the age of 14. They were inseparable from then on and remained childhood sweethearts. Theta graduated from Nederland High School in 1951. She started nursing school at St. Mary's School of Nursing in Port Arthur, Texas, graduating in 1954 with her R.N. Degree. She married Freddy Ray in September of 1955 while Fred was stationed in Hanau, Germany and were documented as the first marriage in Germany after the occupation. Theta worked as an operating room nurse, industrial nurse, E.R. Nurse, school nurse and Director of Nurses at Windsong Village in Pearland. At the time of her passing, she was still working at Windsong Village Nursing Home doing lab order review.
Theta had three children, Phil, Dane and Mollie, however, she never could quite remember which one was adopted. She proudly served on the Pearland ISD School Board for eight years and was elected President for 2 terms. Theta loved helping others, and was especially proud of her involvement in the Lions Club. She organized and established the Silverlake Lions Club and served many offices, including President. Theta was a Melvin Jones Fellow, Jack Weich Fellow, and was recently awarded a special tribute from Lions Club International for bringing in 50 members. Her Lions Club honored her by establishing a scholarship in her name at Turner High School. Theta was a member of the Catholic Daughters Association of St. Helens Catholic Church and was a founding member and “El Capitan” of the Jean Lafitte Cruising Association of Clear Lake. She also established the women's investment club, “U.B. Enterprises”, named after her father.
Theta was passionate about playing bridge, and was quite good! She enjoyed many laughs with her Bridge Club over the years. She loved to dance, and she and Fred were avid square dancers. Theta loved the water, even though she couldn't swim. In fact, she served as Fred's first mate for many years on their sail boats. Theta learned to sail by attending sailing school at the Houston Yacht Club and even had her own sailboat, the “Mollie E.” until a hurricane claimed it.
Pearland legend and lore has it that Theta was even MRS. CLAUS! This is based on the fact that she and Santa Claus “came to town” for many years in a helicopter to pass out candy canes to the children of Pearland. Her laugh was infectious! She loved to tell jokes and even sang Bawdy songs with Bob Ragsdale. Theta was so proud of all of her grandchildren and loved them all dearly. She always made each and every one of them feel special. Even through her diagnosis for cancer in 2001, Theta found the compassion and strength to help those less fortunate by volunteering as a Eucharistic Minister at MD Anderson Cancer Center, as well as St. Helen Catholic Church. She will forever be remembered for her award winning gumbo! If you missed out on trying it, your palate was definitely shortchanged. She was never without her beautiful smile, always positive, and never met a stranger. Most importantly, she always saw the good in everyone she met. Her legacy will never be forgotten and she will truly be missed by all that knew and loved her.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Texas Lions Camp in Kerrville, Texas at www.lionscamp.com/Donations.html
A visitation and rosary for Theta will be held Thursday, November 19, 2015 from 6:00 until 8:00 pm with the rosary recited at 7:30 pm at Clayton Funeral Home, 5530 W. Broadway, Pearland, Texas 77581. The funeral service will take place Friday, November 20, 2015 at 1:00 pm at St. Helen Catholic Church, 2209 Old Alvin Road, Pearland, Texas 77581 with Father Wayne Wilkerson officiating.
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