Obituary of Velma Eileen Galny Whitaker

Velma Eileen Galny Whitaker made her arrival October 9, 1921, and left us on May 13, 2015, knocking on the door of 94. During those years, she enjoyed many lifelong friendships, adored her parents and her brother, revered her grandparents and her aunts and uncles, and nurtured her children and grandchildren. She married her high school beau, Thomas Norman Whitaker, saw him leave for World War II, and raised a family with him in Houston after the war. They spent many days catching the breeze at the family cabin on Trinity Bay. A graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School and the University of Houston, Velma was a tireless booster of both schools. She edited the Cougar (a weekly, at that point), where Jack Valenti and Johnny Goyen reported for her. Her husband joined the UH faculty and they enjoyed campus life and five decades of residence near the university. Their love of Cougar football was well-known, and in August 2014, the Chronicle profiled her long-time love of the team in a column on the opening of TDECU Stadium. Velma admired great art, was an artist with the camera and did some of her own darkroom work, created beautiful pastels and, in later years, worked with acrylics. She loved her children, travel, great music, and French and Spanish culture. She and her husband indulged their kids’ love for dogs, cats, rock music, and fast cars. She read a lot of history and ignored the rolling of her family’s eyes as she lectured over lunch about medieval French history. Texas history was also one of her interests, and she was proud to be a descendant of Charles Stephanes, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto and one of the original Houstonians. Recently, genealogy research has shown she was also descended from some of her favorite historical figures, including Eleanor of Aquitaine, Robert the Bruce, and Lady Godiva, not to mention hordes of Vikings, Celts, and Goths. During her life, she was a member of Central Methodist Church, Parker Memorial Methodist Church, Riverside United Methodist Church, and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Houston and Asbury Methodist Church in Austin. She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas N. Whitaker, PhD; parents Gerhard Henry Galny and Olive Ramsey Galny Anderson, known to the family as Bee; daughter Ranada Whitaker Balius; daughter-in-law Patricia Bartlett Whitaker; grandson Kevin Whitaker; nephew Roy Galny; and sister- and brother-in-law Edwina Whitaker Miller and N. Edd Miller. She is survived by brother G.H. Galny and wife Nellie McManus Galny; son N. Kent Whitaker and wife Tanya Youngling Whitaker; son Keith C. Whitaker and wife Stephanie Lyerly Whitaker; son Don T. Whitaker and wife Jean Miracle Whitaker; son-in-law G. Alan Balius and wife Barbara Morgan Balius and daughter Katie; grandsons Thomas B. Whitaker, D. Heath Whitaker and wife Tiffany Torregrossa Whitaker, and Stephen G. Whitaker; granddaughter Victoria Jean Whitaker; her Galny and Miller nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren; and fellow artist, schoolmate, and friend of eighty years, Nell Jean Stewart. Her family will always remember her love of fried shrimp, chocolate, Dr. Pepper, and ice cream. A memorial service will be held at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 5501 Main Street, Houston 77004, at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 28, 2015. Donations in the memory of Velma Whitaker may be made to St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Bigger Picture Ministries (http://www.biggerpicturemin.org/), First United Methodist Church Pearland, 2314 N. Grand Blvd, Pearland 77581, Westminster United Methodist Church, 5801 San Felipe, Houston 77057, the University of Houston, or your charity of choice.