Annie Lyons

VIEW VIDEO TRIBUTE Annie Mae (Cook) Lyons, 91, of Mineral Wells, Texas passed away on Sunday November 2, 2008 in Mineral Wells. She was born on December 6, 1916 to Heron Nelson and Matie Della (Hobson) Cook in anderson County, Texas. She married Cecil Thurman Lyons in November of 1935 in Jack County, Texas. They had 3 sons together Floyd, Jimmy and Allen. She was a hard-working and loving mother who was faithful to God and her family. She was a retired school cafeteria manager and a member of the Joplin Baptist Church. She is preceded in death by her parents; her son Allen; her sisters Versie Bell, Hettie Lee and Addie Lou and her brother Henry Cook. She will be fondly remembered by her two sons Floyd D. Lyons and wife Connie of Jacksboro and Jimmy C. Lyons and wife Ella Lurene of Mineral Wells; her brother Clarence Cook and wife Eula Mae of Bridgeport, Texas; 9 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren and countless other friends she touched over the years. Services will be Wednesday, November 5, 2008, 2pm, at the Joplin Baptist Church with Dr. Loury Nero officiating. Burial will follow at Perrin Memorial Gardens. Memorials may be made to the IntegraCare Hospice of Mineral Wells, Texas. "A Lesson from 'Mama'" Annie Cook, the youngest daughter of a poor share cropper was born December 6, 1916. Growing up for young Annie was fraught with both hardship and good times, both of which provided her life lessons that would prove invaluable. Annie and her family travelled by covered wagon to Jack County, Texas in 1923 when she was just seven years old. The trip lasted for eight days and seven nights. Coming from Anderson County in East Texas with her family; Heron Cook, her mother; Matie Hobson Cook, and five siblings (3 sisters and 2 brothers) they hoped for a better life. In a small town that few remember named Grasshopper once located between Perrin and Oran, a one room school house provided the only formal education Annie had. Annie would only stay in school long enough to learn to read, write, and figure numbers as she needed to help with work at home. At 17, Annie met and fell in love with Cecil Thurman Lyons. The couple married in 1935, and settled about four miles outside of Perrin on the Lyons family farm. In the midst of the great depression, they worked the farm; striving for a place they could call home and start a family. Annie and Cecil were blessed with their first child Allen, in 1936. Floyd Dean followed in 1938, and a third boy; Jimmy, came along in 1940. Annie always did her part on the family farm even though she was busy with three small boys. She did everything from feeding chickens, turkeys and hogs to milking cows and churning butter. Cecil and the boys were particularly fond of her homemade ice cream. The young family was truly blessed for a short while, however tragedy struck when Cecil took ill after working in inclement weather. Cecil never recovered, and passed away with pneumonia in April of 1941, leaving his young bride and three small sons. Family and friends warned Annie that raising three small boys on her own would be nearly impossible and told her that she should give them up. Annie wouldn’t hear of it, and proclaimed “No one’s gonna take my boys!” Annie was tough and determined, and the family stuck together. Grandpa Lyons and Grandpa Cook sold the family Model T and much of the livestock to purchase a small house in Perrin where Annie and the boys could live. With $25 a month from the county, and a few housekeeping jobs Annie struggled to make ends meet. In 1944 “fortune” smiled on Annie and the boys, when she took a job as a cook and laundry worker at the Lena Pope Home in Fort Worth, Texas. The only hitch was that the boys had to be split up and live in dormitories that were segregated according to gender and age; which meant that the boys weren’t even housed together. As for Annie; she was to live in employee housing. For about a year Annie and the boys were more or less separated and that proved to be more than she was willing to endure. The family returned to Perrin, and although times were hard; at least they were together. Cotton was king in those days, so in 1945 it was off to west Texas to pick cotton. Those three small boys and their mama could be seen pickin’ cotton in the dry dusty West Texas country from sun up ‘til sun down. Even with hard times there are always fond memories and one of the things Dean remembers was “Mama” boiling sugar water to make syrup, pouring it over bread for breakfast. When the cotton was all picked the family once again returned to Perrin, and as luck would have it Annie got a job working at the Perrin School as a cook. This was to be the financial stability the family needed, but no one ever said raising three boys without a father was easy. Even with a steady job there wasn’t enough, so Annie kept a garden. Annie canned everything she could to help offset cost and see that her boys were fed. They picked cotton every fall to make money for shoes and clothes. In the summer Annie worked at the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells. Leaving the boys during those times was hard but necessary. Boys will be boys, and sometimes Annie would return home on her days off to find the house in disrepair where the boys had been fighting. Annie learned to patch a few holes and replace a window now and then. No money was spent if “Mama” could make it or fix it. She made quilts, clothes, and even lye soap to wash with. Not forgetting those boys needed spiritual guidance, Annie remained faithful to God and made sure her family attended the Methodist Church in Perrin. Annie also made sure all three of the boys completed high school. With no running water, no electricity, and little money, but lots of love Annie managed her greatest success. She never faltered, never lost hope, and most of all never allowed her family to be separated. People had told her it couldn’t be done, but they were wrong. As a testament to her perseverance; all three boys grew into manhood and became strong members of society. Allen, the oldest, was a successful construction foreman in Fort Worth for 30 years. In those years the lessons he learned about hardship and the importance of family from Mama were demonstrated by never having an employee quit and never having to fire one. Dean, the middle boy, served his country as a Russian Communication Specialist in the U.S. Air Force and later went to work for AT&T where he stayed for 35 years until retirement. Jimmy, the youngest, was a helicopter mechanic on the Gulf Coast, whose work had him travel nationally and internationally. All three of them hold dear in their hearts the memories she has left and cherish the lesson of “Family First”.

Annie Lyons

December 6, 1916 - November 2, 2008