LAROY W. WASHINGTON

Many times in our lives when we are confronted with difficult situations, there comes a moment of clarity whereupon the actions or words of a mentor guide us. For me, that has always been my Mother’s strength of purpose and particularly, her voice. I have mimicked a certain aspect of my mother’s voice when disciplining my own child, commanding an audience, and in classrooms upon unruly students.  You see, the tone and quiet power of  “The Voice” conveys intensity and demands instant attention and respect.   The voice of my Mother seeped into my bones early, when I was a small child growing up with my four sisters.

One memory comes to mind:  When I was 9 years old,  I climbed a lot of trees to study the birds sailing smoothly across the sky. One day, I decided I too had the ability to fly.  Mind you, days before, my oldest sister, Sharon, had climbed up and rescued a very frightened me down from a thin, swaying branch at the very top of our giant pecan tree on Rex Street. You’d think I had learned my lesson from that, but nooo, I decided if I flapped my arms as hard as I could, I could fly like a bird from the roof of our house.

So, with youthful exuberance I climbed up a fence and onto the roof.  Just as I began flapping my skinny arms and readied one foot to push off,  I heard a magnificent voice ask,  “WHAT  ARE  YOU  DOING?” I froze.  Oh my goodness, I thought: The voice of God!  I scanned the horizon, first right, then left.  And then the voice of God said,  “Get your little tail off that roof and don’t you ever let me catch you up there again!” Startled,  I looked down and locked eyes with Mother, hands on hips and daring me to disobey. Of course, I didn’t. She went on into the house and I climbed down. Scared I would get a spanking, I dragged my feet  inside the door.  But, when I got to

 the kitchen, she didn’t scold or spank me.  She simply pointed to my chair at the dinner table where she had put fried chicken wings on my plate.  Oh boy! Her fried chicken wings were the best! But her presence and her voice inspired my continued compliance against flying and immense awe. And to this day, I mimic her voice when necessary and I noticed, my daughter Autumn, my sister Sharon and twin sister Susan, do as well.

Mrs. Laroy Wells Washington was 96.8 years old when she passed of old age into heaven.  She was, according to her sister and first  cousins, the spoiled daddy’s girl of her father, Flint Leroy Wells and her tiny, blue-eyed midwife/healer/domestic worker mother, Guffie Brown Wells.  As a small child she and her older sister Gloria spent time on the cotton, tobacco, fruit and vegetable farms surrounding Texas and Louisiana because her parents were farm pickers for a while. 

When they settled down in San Antonio, she went to Sojourner Truth Elementary and Phillis Wheatley High school  She left in the 11th grade to do domestic work in San Antonio and later in Dallas, TX.  She eventually came home, met USAF Staff Sgt. Charles Bernard Washington, Jr. (4 years her junior) and got married.  She had five daughters: Sharon, Susan, Charlotte, “Baby” Laroy, and Elizabeth Ann. Through the military career of her husband, the family lived in Wiesbadden Germany, South Carolina, and Myrtle Beach,  Florida.

Another memory comes to mind:  On a giant Air Force plane full of soldiers and their families heading to Germany,  Mother kept her five little girls in line. She did not let us run wildly screaming down the long aisle as the other children did.  They were so noisy and unruly, many parents were in tears.  Sharon asked, “Momma, why are they so bad?!  Her answer:  “Just you don’t act that way.” 

But Mrs. Washington’s girls knew how to act!  Before boarding the plane, Mother had wisely given each of us girls a basket with coloring books, crayons, children’s storybooks, crafts, games ….so,  the only time we got up was so that Sharon could escort us to the bathroom. Mother held baby Elizabeth in her arms the whole way and she never cried during the long hours in flight from San Antonio to New York, to Wiesbaden Germany.  Such was the strength of my mother and the power of her voice.  You see, even before we boarded that plane, “The Voice” had taught us how to mind our manners, say please and thank you, ask for permission, let grownups speak without interruption, and most importantly, listen and obey when she spoke.

We arrived in Germany very late at night and although it was extremely cold and icy, an Air Force General halted everyone on the lit tarmac. And with snow and ice falling on our heads, he commanded all the children with their parents to line up.  Then, he proceeded to chew everyone out on how horribly undisciplined and unruly the children were during the entire flight.

Embarrassed parents hung their heads. Next, much to our surprise, he called Mrs. Washington, my mother, to his side.   He said, “I watched something phenomenal happen on that plane. Amid all that chaos, this woman, with a baby in her arms who never cried, and with four other young children, controlled her family like nothing I’ve ever seen.“  Next, he called all the uniformed soldiers traveling on the flight to get into formation in front of my mother. Then he barked, “Attenchant! Salute!” And to everyone’s surprise, over 100 men in unison saluted my mother, the “Voice.” Mother blushed; I grinned proudly. It was an extremely impressive and deserving moment I never forgot.

Mother went on to have many successes.  She obtained her GED, got a Nurse’s Aid Certification and took care of many elderly people at nursing homes, until she retired as a private-duty CNA who worked from patient’s homes.  She  taught us all how to pray when little and ultimately put us all into the Catholic Faith.  Believing in Christ, she always read her bible.

Her favorite reading was Psalm 27: The Lord is my rock and my salvation –  of whom shall I fear?

 She bought a house and with my father’s help, paid it off. She taught us older girls how to drive.  She spent many happy times with friends, older aunts and cousins on buses headed to casinos in Las Vegas.  Even into her 90s she was an avid walker, often visiting her neighbors or walking to her beloved  Walzem H.E.B (her mall) where the employees all knew and protected her.  She loved to greet friendly people, converse with babies and small children, show off her home, dance to old records, down a “high-ball” now and then, and shop QVC.                                                                

She was the last of the great Brown family that once farmed the West side of San Antonio, Texas.  She is predeceased by her husband, Charles B. Washington Jr,  mother, father, sister Gloria,  grandson Osiris and many close uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews.

She is survived by five daughters: Sharon Washington- the 2nd in command, twins Susan Washington Pirouz (husband Mehrdad)  &  Charlotte Washington Mackey  (husband I.B. Jr.);  “Baby” Laroy Washington  – her namesake,  and her youngest and adored daughter, Elizabeth Ann Washington.

Surviving Grandchildren: Armaan and Yasmin Pirouz & Autumn Laraine Mackey.  And, thanks to her beloved grandson Osiris, she has 3 great-grandchildren.

She is survived by her 2 nieces Jeraldine Stateham (her first play-baby) and Hattie B. Shelton and their respective families.

We her daughters, thank her for bringing us into our lives; for keeping us safe and for helping us enjoy the good times and survive the lessons of the hard times.  We wish a joyful FARE THEE WELL to a great mother, Mrs. Laroy Wells Washington, “The Voice!”