OBITUARY: Grace Marie Giddens Alverson, 91, of Burnet dies May 10, 2014
Grace Marie Giddens Alverson, 91, of Burnet passed away SMay 10, 2014. She was born Sept. 1, 1922, in Leander as the youngest of six children born to Henry Marley and Ida Davis Giddens.
She was a descendent of an Old 300 family and a graduate of Burnet High School at age 15. She was raised on the old Guthrie place west of Burnet and near Mormon Mill, where she loved swimming in any swimming holes on the places.
Marie and Ray Alverson were married March 30, 1940, at the Baptist parsonage in Burnet. Marie and Ray followed construction much of their lives, mainly with Brown & Root. They lived in Houston during the early years of World War II when Ray entered the Army in about 1944, fighting in the Pacific Theater.
After the war, Marie and Ray moved to Burnet, where they ran the Sinclair Station at the corner of 29 and 281. During the 1950s, they operated the coffee shop at the LCRA Observation Building and leased and remodeled the Tower Lodge Café and Hotel in Burnet and the Park-O-Tel Café in Lampasas. Marie also worked at Waggoner’s Grocery.
Marie was a baptized Methodist and member of Burnet First United Methodist Church and Order of the Eastern Star and was president of the Aggie Mom’s Club. She volunteered in the Burnet Community Kitchen and Angel Food Ministry.
She was a docent at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and volunteered with the Sam Houston Area Council-Boy Scouts of America. She also aided lifelong friends in their later years and days. On Sept. 2, 2012, more than 150 of her family members and friends helped celebrate her 90th birthday.
Marie is survived by her sons, Ray Alverson and wife Bonnie of Sugar Land and Clay Alverson and wife Yvette of Lufkin; grandchildren Liz Dever, Stacy Gilmore and wife Tracy, Shawn Alverson, Tyler Pavlic and husband Clayton, Jessica Read and husband Russell, and Tori Alverson; and great-grandchildren, Justin Gilmore, Kaylen Gilmore, Ryan Dever, Knox Pavlic and Gavin Pavlic. She is also survived by her sister Jo Spradling, other family and many friends.
Marie was preceded in death by her husband, Ray; daughter, Margaret Gilmore; son-in-law, Gordon Gilmore; grandson Gordon Gilmore Jr.; and granddaughter Liz’s husband, Rondle Dever.
Visitation is 6-8 p.m. May 16 at Clements-Wilcox Funeral Home, 306 Texas 29 East in Burnet, (512) 756-2222. A funeral service is 11 a.m. May 17 at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Burnet City Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to local scholarships for students wishing to attend Texas A&M University or to Burnet First United Methodist Church or the American Heart Association.
Condolences may be offered at www.clementswilcoxburnet.com.