Myra Jean Leggett

A funeral service for Jean Leggett will be held on Thursday, November 11, 2021 at First Baptist Church, Waco, with Rev. Matt Snowden officiating. Visitation will be Wednesday, November 10, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home. The following obituary is in Jean’s own words. I was born on Friday, February 13, 1942, in Exeter, California instead of Honolulu, Hawaii due to the bombing of pearl harbor. when able to travel, my mother, Leola Mae Runyon Anderson, returned to Sweetwater to be close to my father’s parents Mr. & Mrs. Neely Lee Anderson (Claudia pearl and Neely were called gran and pa). The rest of my life was uprooted every three years when my father, Lt. Col. Wesley Harvey Anderson, had a change of duty; therefore, I have lived in the following places: Chicago, Illinois., Fort Fee, Virginia, Fort Knox, Kentucky, Ecata, Japan, Fort Mead, Maryland, and Stuttgart, Germany. I have attended a portion of all three schools (elementary, jr. high, and high school), in Sweetwater, waiting for orders to join my dad. After graduation, I worked for the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company until my marriage to Raymond Francis Leggett, Jr., who was my golf instructor at the officer’s country club in Stuttgart, Germany. he was from Midland, Texas, and, upon his return to the states, he came calling. We married May 30, 1961 (Memorial Day), in the First Baptist Church of Sweetwater, Texas, and made our first home in Midland, Texas, where our first child, Lauren Sue was born. We moved to Odessa, Texas, for a year and then to San Angelo, where our son, Raymond Francis Leggett III was born. We moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1967, and our final move, in 1971, was to Waco, Texas. while living in Waco, I worked for thirteen years at the Samaritan Counseling Center of Central Texas, followed by one year of being the pastor’s secretary at the First Baptist Church of Waco. I retired in 1992. Ray had already retired from Metropolitan Life Insurance, in 1982. I enjoyed serving as vice president for two years and then as president for two more years for the Historic Waco Foundation. I enjoyed being treasurer of the East Terrace House Museum for three years and then served as their president in 2015. The time I spent in the Waco Study Club, being their treasurer for three years, was such a learning experience. I have always found it a rewarding experience to serve on the different committees of my church, but I enjoyed singing in the choir as the truest blessing of all. I enjoyed playing in several bridge clubs with great friends as well as making afghans for family and friends. Losing myself in making jewelry was a joy. Now at the end of my life, I feel, with all my travels behind me, I have finally found a place I can call home. I lost the love of my life of 48 years on November 3, 2009, in my 67th year. I was facing many new challenges, and some were very difficult to bear because the center of my world had been shaken and I no longer had anyone to share with or turn to. I know with God’s strength and guidance, I would remain strong in him. I would enjoy sharing in the lives of my two wonderful children and my two very special grandchildren. I pray we have created enough memories together to last their lifetimes. I had entered this last chapter of my life and had tried to fill it with volunteer work for my church and community. I worked with the homebound members of our church by visiting them and taking a baked item to them. I rejoined the choir. I so enjoyed singing to my Lord all those beautiful songs. I became involved in Historic Waco Foundation and served as their president for two years (2013-2014). I was president of East Terrace Museum for two years (2015-2016). I also served as treasurer of the Waco Study Club for two years (2013-2014). I found making jewelry that first year helped me lose myself for hours, in peace and tranquility. My greatest comfort came in the form of butterflies that seemed to surround me that first year, even when I went to Michigan and was sharing with Lynn how there was a butterfly every time I left my home and how I saw it as a sign of support from Ray. It was October and she said that I probably wouldn’t see one while I was there with them. When we went shopping the next day right in the middle of a concrete parking lot a beautiful butterfly winged its way right in front of us. How good is our God, reminding me of the new life Ray has with him, and to remind me that they are with me wherever I go! Those who are left behind to cherish her beloved memories are her daughter, Lauren Sue Stumpf, and granddaughter, Kristin Michelle Stumpf, of Hewitt,; son, Raymond F. Leggett, III, and wife, Lynn Leggett, and grandson, Raymond F. Leggett, IV, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; brother, Jerry Anderson, and wife, Beth, of Brandon, Florida; nephew, Dr. Richard Holt Leggett, and wife, Jenny, and two daughters, Jacalyn and Sarah, of Victoria, Texas; niece, Virginia Coleman, and husband, Scott, and two daughters, Jessie and Jackie, of Victoria, Texas; nephew, Jesse Arthur Leggett, Jr., and wife, Michelle, and two sons, Curtis and John, of Houston, Texas Memorials may be made to the East Terrace House Museum or to the charity of your choice.