Bennie Lou Franks Weaver

Bennie Lou Franks Weaver Bennie Lou Franks Weaver passed away May 16, 2011 at home in Lynn Grove, with Binford Weaver, her husband of 52 years and 9 months, by her side. A celebration of her life is set for 11:00 a.m. Friday, May 20, at First Presbyterian Church, 302 Nolan at Holland in Navasota. Interment will follow in Oakland Cemetery. Following the graveside services, there will be a reception at First Presbyterian church Family Life Center. Bennie Lou was born January 9, 1923, to Dovey Lucille Barnett Franks and Robert Ingram Franks in Del Rio, Texas. Bennie Lou spent her early years ranching in West Texas, losing her father, Bob, to an auto accident in 1930. Bennie Lou and Dovey persevered, ranching a 26-section place between Fort Stockton and Iraan until moving to another large ranch outside McCamey, where Bennie Lou edited the school paper and graduated as Salutatorian of the 1941 class. Bennie Lou entered Baylor University on a scholarship in the fall of 1941, taking a leave of absence during World War II to help her mother on the ranch. There she met Philip Renstrom, then stationed at the nearby Pecos Army Air Corp base, and married him in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on March 17, 1945. Bennie Lou returned to Baylor and graduated in 1946, majoring in English with a minor in Music. After graduation, she joined Phil in California and taught High School in the San Francisco Bay area, and later at Kearney, Nebraska. Her first marriage ended in divorce, and she returned to Waco, Texas, teaching English while earning her Master's degree in Guidance and Counseling at Baylor. Bennie Lou remained close to her former roommate at Baylor, Reba Lou Weaver Campbell, and became friends with Reba's family, especially Reba's brother, Binford. Bennie Lou and Binford were married on August 9, 1958, and afterward she made a loving home in Lynn Grove. Bennie Lou served as a guidance counselor and teacher at Navasota High School in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where she joyfully influenced the development and success of many young people. Bennie was also a certified Red Cross swimming and lifeguard instructor, and for many years shared responsibilities for the summer swimming program at the Navasota pool with her good friends, Jackie Baker, Carol Coleman, Anne Largent, Diane Moore and others. She supported her husband as an active member and leader of the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF), attending every meeting of the ABF from 1969 until 2009. She was active in the Navasota Music Study club and the Navasota Garden club, serving as president of each, and was an avid bridge player. Bennie Lou was a founding member of the Grimes County Republican Party and an early supporter of George H. W. Bush in his campaigns for Congress and the Senate in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Bennie Lou grew up in the Baptist Church, became a member of the Lynn Grove Methodist Church after marriage, and subsequently, the First Presbyterian Church in Navasota, where she remained a faithful attendee until her health failed. Bennie Lou was preceded in death by her father, Robert (August 30, 1930); her mother, Dovey (March 28, 1972); her adopted sister, Barbara King Robinson, and Bennie Lou's beloved son, Robert Roy Weaver (January 15, 1995). She is survived by her husband, Binford, of Lynn Grove, a son, Daniel Binford Weaver and daughter-in-law, Laura Gregory Weaver, and three grandsons whom she adored, Travis Binford Weaver, Dylan Gregory Weaver and Stone Barnett Weaver, all of Austin, Texas. Bennie Lou never met a stranger, regardless of origin; could find a fellow Texan in the dark under a new moon - but folks from west of the Nueces were her favorites; was always quick with a smile but ready to speak her mind. Bennie Lou was also a master of Southwestern cooking; a lover of Classical, Big Band and Jazz music; a fierce protector of right over might, and compassionate to those in need. Mostly, she was one of a kind. For those that desire, the family has suggested memorials be made in her name to United Methodist Community on Relief (www.umcor.org), 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1520, New York, NY 10115 or a favorite charity. You are invited to sign the guestbook and leave condolences for the family at www.lindleyrobertsonholt.com. Lindley-Robertson-Holt Funeral Home 815 S. LaSalle - Navasota, Texas 936-825-6448