The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

On Friday, Jan. 13, Mildred Colston Womack, 76, was reunited in Heaven with her mother Jewel Foster Colston.

Jewel journeyed to Heaven ahead of Mildred and the rest of her family when Mildred was only six weeks old.

Also there to greet Mildred was her father, John William Bascom (JB) Colston; the mother that raised her, Lois Martin Reeves Colston (Nanny); her brother Robert Lee Colston, Sr.; and her sisters, Christine Colston Turner, Mary Colston Spears, Katherine Colston Zeisler, Betty Colston Robinson, Vivian Reeves Sampson, and Nell Reeves Bolton.

Mildred was born in Fort Worth on Sept. 2, 1935 and moved to Texas City in 1937 where she attended school. In the 1940 Texas City May Fete, four-year-old Mildred served as flower girl to her sister, Duchess Mary Colston, representing Woodmen of the World.

She was a survivor of the Texas City Blast in 1947. She and her sister Nell told stories of the injuries, death, and destruction they witnessed while running hand in hand from school that disastrous day.

Mildred was a huge fan of the Dallas Cowboys and learned that in football, the boys made “touch downs” not “home runs” as she screamed out while attending her first Stingaree football game in 1952.

She married the love of her life, Billy Earl Womack in Galveston on Christmas Eve, 1953. They had three children all of whom survive her: Billie Fremont and husband David of League City; Danny Womack and wife Kim of Ocala, Florida; and Tim Womack and wife Debbie of Conroe. She is also survived by grandchildren Jennifer Fremont Simons, Natalie Fremont, Robert Womack, Rebecca Womack, Victoria Womack, Ashley Womack Mahana, and Landon Womack; five great-grandchildren Kasey Cooper, Hailey Foresman-Womack, Hunter Womack, Brooklyn Mahana, and Gage Womack, and nieces, nephews and friends too numerous to name.

Mildred was known as the “grandmother of the church” at Family Worship Center in Orange, where she set high standards for the young women. She was also known as the Christmas decoration expert and as a young woman, she surprised her children with amazing arrays of Christmas gifts, even on a shoestring budget.

Mildred was a very successful independent saleswoman with Mary Kay Cosmetics and Home Interior Designs. She was active in her young adult years with fashion shows, Founders Day Parades, and served as a Cub Scout Leader in Texas City.

In the spring of 1970, Mildred and Billy packed up their children and their home and moved to Jamaica living there for about a year. When she was in her early fifties, she and Billy traveled in their “freedom wheels” to Canada and all but five of the Continental United States.

Billy took care of his bride and held her hand until she was safely in the arms of Jesus. Although pancreatic cancer took her earthly life, she claims eternal life in Heaven being a believer in Jesus Christ her Savior since the age of 7. Her favorite scripture was Romans chapter 7, especially verse 19: “For the good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do.” She prayed that the Lord would help people see past her imperfections and instead see only His love, and that her legacy would be that she helped pave the way for others to walk in Christ.

Memorial services will be held at Family Worship Center in Orange on Saturday, Jan. 21. A celebration of her life will be held at the home of her daughter, Billie, in League City on Saturday, Feb. 4.

Donations may be made in lieu of flowers to Family Worship Center, 2300 41st Street, Orange Texas, 77630.

A special thanks from the family to Jolene Valentine with Texas Home Health, Sharon Jackson and Laura Howard of Hallmark Hospice.