Era Jeanne Boettger

Era Jeanne Secrest Boettger, of West, passed away Monday morning, December 17, 2007, at Regent Care in Waco. Graveside services will be held 11:00 a.m. Wednesday at Oakwood Cemetery in Waco, with Dr. Chet Taylor officiating. Memorial services will be held 12:00 noon Wednesday at Austin Avenue United Methodist Church in Waco, with Rev. Don Scott officiating. Mrs. Boettger was born on February 10, 1917, in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, the daughter of Samuel and Carrie Secrest. She attended schools in Wynnewood and graduated from Wynnewood High School in 1934. She graduated from Baylor College of Nursing and became a nurse anesthetist. She married Dr. John W. Pate in 1940. During World War II, she worked as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist in Austin and subsequently in Sanderson, Texas, with her husband, John Pate. Jeanne graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sul Ross State University in Alpine in 1961 and then went on to receive a Masters of Library Science at Texas Women's University in Denton in 1962. She married Dr. Hans Frederick Boettger in El Paso on May 22, 1965; and they have resided on a farm outside of West for the last 37 years. Jeanne worked as a librarian in the Texas public school systems of Alpine, El Paso, Galveston, and Dallas, retiring in 1981. Jeanne was a member of many genealogical societies, including the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Texas Society of Colonial Dames, the Magna Carta Dames, the Huguenot Society, the Jamestown Society, and others. She was very involved with Baylor University and participated in their programs of continuing education up until last month. She was a member of the honorary sorority Delta Kappa Gamma. Jeanne is preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Thomas Stanton Secrest in 1913; a sister, Cy Cason in 1969; a stepson, Richard Frederick Boettger; and a great-grandson, William Jackson Pate. Survivors include her beloved husband, Dr. Hans Frederick Boettger of West; three sons, Dr. John Woodrow Pate, Jr. and wife Rhonda of El Paso, Dr. William Bart Pate and wife Cathy of Ft. Worth, Dr. Robert Thomas Mark Pate and wife Margie of Rocky Mount, North Carolina; one stepson, James Madison Boettger and wife Melinda of Corpus Christi; one stepdaughter, Claire Boettger of Corpus Christi; one sister, Betty Jo Venable and husband Jack of Dallas; ten grandchildren, Jay Pate, Matthew Pate and wife Catherine, Tiana Hampton, Clint Pate and wife Tina, Nick Pate and wife Irina, Chris Pate and wife Jennifer, Carey Pate and wife Rena, Russell Pate and wife Carol, Christine Pate, and Grace Medrano; nine great-grandchildren, Presley Sue Pate, Gage Hampton, Amanda, Ashley, and Allison Pate, Anthony Pate, and Lola, Seth, and Simon Pate; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. Memorials may be made to the West Senior Citizen Center, 200 Tokio Road, West, TX 76691 or to Baylor University, One Bear Place #97026, Waco, TX 76798.