Shirley Tucker Charpiot

Shirley Tucker Charpiot
October 4, 1926 - April 13, 2024
Shirley Tucker Charpiot passed away peacefully on April 13, 2024. She was born in Houston on October 4, 1926, to Mary Louise "Lou" Isbell and Elza Jeremiah Tucker, natives of Woodville, Texas. She was the youngest of five siblings. After attending schools in Houston, Woodville, and Hempstead, she enrolled in high school in Bellville where she graduated in 1940 as class Salutatorian.
It was in Bellville where she met her husband, Bob Charpiot, on the bus ride to school from the Racoon Bend oil fields. She and Bob married at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in 1947. They remained active life-long parishioners and loved serving and celebrating the Lord at St. Mary's.
When their sons, Robert and David, were young, the family treasured their time outdoors. Shirley enjoyed shooting quail and dove alongside her boys at their hunting lease in Devine, Texas. The family traveled across the United States exploring state and national parks in their travel trailer with dear friends.
Shirley, known as "Sho-Sho", had a close relationship with her three granddaughters. They spent countless hours dressing up in her clothes, playing in the tree house, baking cookies, and learning how to play card games. Shirley made sure her granddaughters knew how to properly set a table and was not shy about correcting their grammar. Shirley was an example of a strong woman both inside and outside the home and emphasized the importance of family, faith, and education.
Shirley loved sports and played tennis into her sixties. She could regularly be found attending the local football, volleyball, and tennis games cheering on the Bellville Brahmas long after her own children had graduated. Shirley was a devoted fan of the University of Texas Longhorns and never missed an opportunity to wear burnt orange and cheer on her favorite team. Shirley's competitive spirit was not limited to sports but was also evident in regular bridge games that she played until months before her death.
Over the years, Shirley devoted her time to numerous worthwhile organizations in Bellville including Community Bible Study, Raising Academic Performance, and the Texas Exes Austin County Chapter. She was a founding member of the Bellville Bluebonnet Society of Austin County. Shirley and Bob were awarded the Good Neighbor Award in 2000 by the Bellville Chamber of Commerce in recognition of their service in the community for over fifty years. She and Bob also received the Silver Fawn and Silver Beaver Awards, respectively, considered the highest volunteer honor awarded by the Boy Scouts of America.
Shirley was an avid reader and had a deep passion for Texas history. For many years, she sponsored Bellville students visiting the San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site and Museum, the site where Stephen F. Austin established a headquarters for his colony in Mexican Texas in 1823. She found it valuable for the students to walk in the footsteps of these early pioneers at what was the social, economic, and political center of American immigration to Texas before its independence.
Shirley was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 62 years, Robert Babtiste "Bob" Charpiot; her son, David Babtiste Charpiot; and her siblings, Inez Isbell Wright, R.C. Tucker, Jeffrey Tucker, and Johnny Tucker.
She is survived by her eldest son, Robert Alexander Charpiot and wife Janet; her daughter-in-law Lura Ann Charpiot; and her granddaughters, Elizabeth Charpiot Mackie and husband Jonathan; Katie Charpiot Johnston and husband Jeremy; and Natalie Charpiot Manfull and husband Bryan. Shirley is also survived by her adored great grandchildren, William "Hart" Mackie, Blake and Brooklyn Johnston, and Betty Ann and Lucy Manfull along with numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
A memorial service will be held at two o'clock in the afternoon on Friday, April 26, 2024, at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Bellville. In a final act of generosity, Shirley donated her body to the UT McGovern Medical School for the advancement of science.
In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions be directed to:
St. Mary's Episcopal Church Memorial Fund
24 N. Masonic
Bellville, Texas 77418
Bellville Hospital Foundation
P.O. Box 55
Bellville, Texas 77418
Friends of the San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site
P.O. Box 96
San Felipe, Texas 77473