Let us begin by thanking you all for coming to help us celebrate Marcy’s life and share our grief at her passing. Alli and I wrote this together and today we’re speaking on behalf of our family.
We are standing before you today with broken hearts, but we wanted to be the ones to give her tribute because she is our mother… the best mother we could have ever asked for.
Marcia “Marcy” Lea Mueller Tondre, age 58, of Castroville, passed away Dec. 8, 2014 in San Antonio. Marcy was born February 22, 1956 in Hondo to Hilmer E. Mueller and Georgia Ann Rietzer Mueller Pope. Marcy is preceded in death by her father and her step-father, Elmo Pope. She was a 1974 graduate of Hondo High School. In 1978 she graduated from UT Austin with a BS in Pharmacy. She was a pharmacist and managed the local Walmart pharmacy for 17 years. On September 2, 1978 she married Rick Tondre at St. Louis Catholic Church. Survivors include her husband, Rick Tondre; daughter and son-in-law, Allison and Jim Cody Welch ; son and daughter-in-law, Nathan and Morgan Tondre ; grandchildren, Brooks Tondre and Taytum Welch; mother, Georgia Ann Pope; brother and his wife, Steve and Kim Mueller; sister and her husband, Rebecca and Mike Hackebeil; in-laws, Paul and Sandra Tondre, Pat and Carol Tondre, and Col. Charles and Nancy Persyn, Tim and Yvonne Haegelin; numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives.
My name is Morgan Tondre, and I am Marcy’s daughter-in-law. We never really liked the phrase “in law” though, as Marcy treated me as her own from the day I first met her. Truly, that’s how she approached everyone she met, with love & kindness.
During my MOH speech at my sister Alli’s wedding, I said that marrying into the Tondre family is just like winning the lottery, and that’s truly how I feel. It says a lot when we would rather spend at Saturday night together than doing anything else. There is never a dull moment, and always so much fun to be had… which in great part was because of our mom. With the same open arms Marcy embraced her family with, she also embraced the community. Marcy lived her life to help others. I’m not sure she knew any other way. By offering advice, comfort, encouragement, and hugs, Marcy served as the rock of our family. It didn’t matter if it was 2 in the morning, and we were having trouble soothing a colicky baby, she was always a phone call away and would come running to help (& goodness knows we needed all the help we could get)!
Mom was the most amazing Gran we could have ever asked for. Our children were blessed by having had her love, even though it was only for a short while. Gran and Pop were absolutely unapologetic in how much they loved being a grandparent, even more than being parents.
The day that the Lord called her home, Brooks spent the morning yelling “hook‘em horns” as he ran through the hallways in our home. I would bet that this most certainly would have made her smile.
Not only was she an devoted mother and grandmother to her own children, she embraced our friends as family as well. I affectionately referred to Gran as the “great baby snatcher.” If you went to a party and saw my mother, she would most certainly steal your child for the night. I’m sure many of you here have had her rock your baby to sleep or given them five too many cookies. This was her joy.
I would like to share with you a few memories that truly illustrate Marcy’s love for life and others, and that made up some of her best days:Rick and Marcy enjoyed many vacations with dear friends. Late nights filled with laughter while vacationing with Hilton & Cindy Stinson will be cherished forever.As many of you know, next to family and friends, Marcy’s greatest passion was the University of Texas Longhorns. Her screams during football games could be heard across the county. We would be hard pressed to find another fan as dedicated as sweet Marcy. Which brings me to a fond memory that Rick shared with me last week: Rick and Marcy were on vacation with Chris Schuchart and Vivan Torres. It was right after the Longhorns had won the National Championship, and the couples were riding in the car together. It is still unknown if this was done intentionally or not, but every time Marcy’s phone would ring, “The Eyes of Texas” was played loud and clear for all to hear. Rick shares that he wasn’t sure if Chris was going to jump out of the moving car or not. Also, still unknown if it was intentional, Allison made sure to call her mom several times that day.
Mom loved to hunt and fish, and was remarkably talented in both areas. She would have given many of the men in this room a run for their money when comparing hunting stories. Joyful days spent at the deer lease with the Wurzbach’s, Heath’s, and Stinson’s remain unforgettable.
Since we’re in church, we feel that we should confess something for Marcy. She was addicted to scratch off lottery tickets. However, we’re not certain God didn’t approve of this as she routinely won and won big!
Personally, I owe so much to Marcy. She raised two incredible children who are compassionate, successful, and strong Christians and serve as excellent and loving role models to our children. She raised the man of my dreams, and for that, I am forever grateful. Raising your children to be such wonderful people doesn’t just happen on accident. She was an incredible mother and if I can just be half the mother she was, I will consider myself fortunate. Allison and Nathan were her pride and joy, and I am confident that she will rest easy with a pride filled heart as she watches over them.
The hardest thing for us is to imagine life without her. I wish we would have paid more attention to how she cooked certain things, so we apologize in advance to those of you who come to the Tondre annual fish fry. This year’s cole slaw may not be the best ever now that we’re in charge, but we will continue the party like she would have wanted. And speaking of fish fry, that party is the definition of the Tondre family. We love to be with friends and family more than anything. Mom especially enjoyed having a drink and visiting with friends. Many of you share in these memories and I am sure can recall one as we speak today. These special celebrations of being together are evidenced by all you gathering here to honor her.
It’s times like these where people wonder “Where is God?” But we know where God is. I see him every time I look at my daughter’s face and know that I was extremely blessed that Mom was by my side when Taytum came into this world. That was an unforgettable gift that I will cherish always.
I saw God last week in the hospital when Marcy could barely speak but was able to open her eyes and say “hey buddy” to Brooks. I will remember that moment for the rest of my life.
We see God as we look around this church today. The out pouring of love from this community has been both heartwarming and comforting. It is not an exaggeration to say that Mom received hundreds of cards while she was sick. People have called constantly offering to help in any way they could. These are selfless acts of love. We thank you for that.
We read in John 14:1-3 (NIV) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am.” We find comfort in these words, and know that Heaven has gained a beautiful angel that will watch over us.
We have also prayed hard and know that God has already set up all of Heaven’s TVs with the Longhorn network, just as she would have wanted. As this is such a somber occasion, we would like to do something that we know would make Mom smile, and we just couldn’t think of a better way than to have everyone, even you Aggies, show some Longhorn pride. So, today, when we gather at the cemetery, we invite you to join us by putting your horns up as we will listen to “The Eyes of Texas” in honor of our very favorite and fallen Longhorn.
We would like to thank you for letting us take the time to share with you this morning. We recognize that we have included a some silly jokes, but that is a testament to how our mom lived her life. Always positive, always smiling, always laughing… May we always remember her in this way.
