Inge W. Fariss

Inge W. Fariss passed away Friday, June 17, 2022, at the St. Catherine Center in Providence Village. There will be a viewing at Wilkirson-Hatch Bailey Funeral Home Monday, June 27 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and a memorial service at the Providence Village Chapel Tuesday, June 28 at 3 p.m. Inge was born August 15, 1926, in Lötzen, East Prussia, to Erna Clara Mehl and Zelik Woislawski. She was educated in Shanghai, China, and immigrated to the United States in 1947. In 1948, she married Robert E. Fariss, who she had met working in a PX in China while he was serving in the Navy. Upon arrival in the United States, she sent him a Christmas Card which began a yearlong correspondence courtship ending in a marriage proposal sent in a letter. They enjoyed 57 years of happiness until his death in 2005. One of her proudest moments was December 20, 1950, when she was granted American citizenship. The headline in the Houston Press read, “Woman without Country-Till Now.” Due to circumstances at her birth, she was not a citizen of any country until then and her love for the United States continued through her lifetime. The couple lived in Houston until 1960 when they moved to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where she volunteered at the Veterans Hospital as an Occupational Therapist. In 1970, they moved to Waco, where she lived until her death. She was a member of First United Methodist Church Waco. Inge had a passion for working with the elderly and shut-ins. Wherever she lived, she created programs for them including gourmet luncheons and special entertainment. This continued even after moving to Providence Village. In addition to her work with the Red Cross, she also loved her volunteer work with Hillcrest Hospice. Inge was a gifted artist working in ceramics and later porcelain. Her creations won numerous awards and she was best known for her “Birds by Inge.” Inge is survived by her daughter, Kathryn Fariss Place and husband, Richard, of Houston; sons, Robert Elwyn Fariss Jr. and wife, Leslie, of Colleyville, and James Stephen Fariss and wife, Sandy, of Colorado Springs; grandchildren, Brian Place, Laura Place Hamilton, Robert E Fariss, III and Heather Fariss Law; and eight great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Fuzzy Friends Rescue at https://fuzzyfriendsrescue.com/donate/memorials-and-honorariums/.