Kenneth and Suzanne Roddy

1938 - 2022

Suzanne T. Roddy was born in Fort Worth, Texas on August 24, 1938, and went to be with her Lord and Savior on December 9, 2022. Suzie's husband of 61 years, Kenneth Ray Roddy, was born in Fort Worth on April 9, 1938, and went to be with his Lord and Savior on October 16, 2020.

Ken and Suzie were preceded in death by their parents, Boyd W. and Agnes Roddy and J.D. and Berta Tackett, their brother-in-law Louie Franklin, Jr, and nephew John Franklin. They are survived by their son and daughter-in-law Steve and Jenni Roddy of New Braunfels, daughter Julianne Roddy of Conroe, and son David Roddy of Houston; grandchildren Emma Roddy of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Sam Roddy of Austin, and Trevor Roddy of San Antonio; Suzie's sister Nita Franklin of Richland Hills and brother and sister-in-law Charles and Karen Tackett of North Richland Hills; Ken's brother Curtis Roddy of McKinney and sister and brother-in-law Linda and Jerry Moore of Celina; nephew Joe Franklin and his wife Cindy of Richland Hills, nephew Tom Tackett and wife Michelle of Gainesville, Virginia, Tamara Paul and husband Daniel of San Antonio, niece Laura and husband Scott Hagan of Gunter, nephew Gregg Moore and wife Reagan of Celina, and niece Dana Shipp and her husband Gary of Burleson; and by cousins, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews, all of whom in which they delighted.

Ken and Suzie were born in Fort Worth, and Ken was raised from birth in nearby Burleson, in his family's ancestral area of Johnson County, Texas. Suzie moved with her family to Burleson during her 8th grade school year, and the two became school sweethearts soon after, beginning a close and loving relationship that would span seven decades. They were married following their junior year of college on September 1, 1959, at First Baptist Church in Burleson. After graduation from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas), Ken with a BBA in Accounting and named the Outstanding Accounting Student of 1959-60 and Suzie with a BBA in Business, they moved to Houston, where Ken began a nearly forty-year career in oil and gas accounting management, including 28 years at Tenneco, Inc. and an additional ten years with MG Natural Gas, Inc. They lived in Houston until moving to Conroe, Texas in 1972, which they made their home until 2000. In 2000, they moved to Fredericksburg, where they built a new home and enjoyed life in retirement surrounded by many friends.

Ken loved music, especially sacred hymns, and played piano and sang in their churches' choirs throughout most of his adult life. During their days in Houston, he regularly returned downtown after a workday to play piano and serve food to the homeless in Houston's Star of Hope Mission. Ken also had a strong affinity for architectural design and construction, designing the family's houses in Conroe and later in Fredericksburg, where he and Suzie built, with the help of family and friends, their house that he often referred to as "just a barn." He also shared his talent with others, designing structures and improvements for family and friends. He especially loved his immediate and extended family, and enjoyed nothing more than spending time with them, as well as working to update family history research begun by his father.

Suzie combined management of their household with pursuit of creative arts, ultimately excelling as a handweaver, an avocation that led to her creation of an early Internet-based weaving supply business, Suzanne Roddy Handweaver, and time as Artist-In-Residence at Sam Houston State University, where her weavings were displayed in buildings there and in downtown Houston. She also adopted healthy food practices, including organic gardening, composting, bread baking and other scratch-made foods, well before those pursuits became popularized, and embraced emerging technologies for use in household and creative ventures.

Ken and Suzie loved their God and their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, with all their hearts. They loved one another, their family, their friends, and the churches in which they served as members over a lifetime, including Rice Temple and Westbury Baptist churches in Houston, First Baptist Church in Conroe, and First Baptist Church in Fredericksburg. Both were avid readers and enjoyed gardening and travel, especially to their favorite, Santa Fe. They were beloved by their family and friends, and together were, in many ways, ahead of their time.

Both requested cremation at their passing, and the family will honor their wishes with interment and a memorial gathering of family and friends in Burleson Memorial Cemetery on January 29, 2023, at 2:30 p.m. Those who wish to make a contribution in Ken and Suzie's memory are encouraged to do so via a gift to the Senior Ministry of First Baptist Church, Fredericksburg, 1407 E. Main St., Fredericksburg, TX 78624, (830) 997-9511 or www.fbcfbg.com.