She grew up in the small town of Woodville, Texas, the daughter of Abrom Ernest Pedigo and Ella Tucker. Her paternal grandfather, Jack Hamilton Pedigo, was among the early settlers of Tyler County in a time when “Pedigo” was a place on the map. It indicated the rural post office his wife Lula Alice Ogden operated as post-mistress.
Growing up in Woodville, Maurine learned to play piano, and was in demand all over town, at church, at weddings, and yes—at funerals. She learned to twirl the baton and led the high school marching band as the drum major. She ran the power company’s office and used the proceeds to buy herself a semester at the University of Texas in Austin.
Maurine had never-ending love and admiration for her brother Joe Pedigo and her sister Virginia Pedigo Turner, both of Livingston, Texas. They had a special closeness and an unbreakable bond. They were lifelong friends and companions, never far away in heart or thoughts.
After graduation from high school, Maurine met a midshipman from the Naval Academy, Dan J Rienstra, Jr. of Nederland, Texas. She took the train, a big deal for a single Southern girl in those days, to New London, Connecticut, to marry him.
Thus began her wonderful life with Dan. Maurine took to the life of a Navy wife as if born to it. She was independent and resolute as she followed Dan up and down the US East Coast and US West Coast as he moved from ship to ship, with her three sons (and a Beagle!) always in tow. She traveled coast to coast in the long-ago days before interstate highways, which could mean small county roads in the dark of the night in search of a roadside motel anywhere one could be found. She was always courageous and we never doubted that we would get where we needed to be.
Maurine was a supermom well before the word was invented. She was active in her children’s schools, in church, and in the Navy wives’ community. The kitchen was her castle. She was a master cook and baker. The holiday dinners at family gatherings were always a wonderful experience. Cakes, pies and cookies were her specialty and were often marvellous creations. She prepared her children for the school year with a special dinner on Labor Day, often including a cake made in the shape of a schoolhouse.
She loved reading and talking about what she had read with family and friends. Her curiosity led her to take community college courses once she and Dan became empty-nesters.
Following Dan’s retirement from his career in the Navy, she and Dan lived in the Washington DC area and in Houston and Livingston, Texas. They enjoyed travel. Maurine later relocated to Austin to be near her grandchildren.
In her role as ‘Mimi’ she traveled with her grandchildren to Europe and up and down the highways of America, especially Annapolis! She loved shepherding Rebecca, Sarah and Danny to many school and sporting events, and always followed up with a stop for a burger and shake.
Maurine, throughout her life, lived with an indomitable spirit, love in her heart and a desire to make people feel welcome and valuable.
She is survived by her sister Virginia Pedigo Turner of Livingston, Texas, son Douwe and wife Jill of Port Townsend, Washington, son John of Austin, son Matthew and wife Deanne of Austin, grandchildren Joseph, Michael, Rebecca, Sarah, and Dan, and the many Pedigo and Rienstra nieces and nephews who so much enriched her life.
Maurine will be interred beside her loving husband Dan on the grounds of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
A memorial service for Maurine will be held Saturday, May 4, 2024 at 1:00 PM at Cook-Walden Forest Oaks Funeral Home, 6300 West William Cannon Drive, Austin, Texas 78749.
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