Naomi Dueese Millsap

She was born on May 28,1935 to J.T. "Jake"Gilbreth and Temmie (Edwards) Gilbreth in Abilene, Texas. When she was two years old, her parents entered her in a contest run by the local newspaper whereupon she was proclaimed to be "The Cutest Kid in Abilene", thus winning a new refrigerator/freezer for her parents. The winning portrait of little two-year-old Naomi with her rosy-cheeked, smiling face framed by a frilly bonnet hung proudly over the fireplace in her parent's home for their entire lives.

Naomi and her parents were joined by two brothers, Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Gilbreth (Charlotte) and James "Dub" Gilbreth (Ruth). The Gilbreths were a family of deep faith, and Naomi was baptized a Christian at First Baptist Church in Abilene when she was a little girl. She was a straight A student and graduated from Abilene High School in 1953.

Naomi grew up across the street from the Millsap Family, and when she was all grown up, she literally married the young man across the street, Amos Stanley Millsap. Stanley was in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Merced, California at the time, so when Naomi and Stanley fell in love and decided to get married, the entire family took the train out west and the ceremony took place in Naomi's aunt and uncle's home in Los Angeles, California on June 26, 1954.

They welcomed a son (Stacy Dee Millsap) into the world 11 months later in May 1955. After Stanley received his Honorable Discharge from the Air Force in 1956, the young family moved back to Abilene, Texas. Naomi and Stanley had a second son (Scott Allen Millsap) in March 1959. The family moved to Corpus Christi, Texas in 1961 and joined Second Baptist Church where the Millsap family developed many lifelong friendships.

Naomi used to tell the family that from the time she was a little girl, as she ended each day with prayer, she asked God for two sons. As the mother of Stacy and Scott and a full-time wife and homemaker, Naomi worked hard at creating a safe, wholesome home for her husband and two sons. Her house was always filled with love, laughter, and a seemingly unending parade of neighbors and friends. Naomi and Stanley converted to Catholicism in 1980 at Most Precious Blood Parish in Corpus Christi under the guidance of Msgr. William Kinlough. She wholeheartedly supported her husband as he prepared for the diaconate, and in October 1983 at the Corpus Christi Cathedral, saw him ordained as a Permanent Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church.

Always possessed with a strong desire to learn, Naomi was an avid reader her entire life. While she enjoyed a wide variety of literature, she always immersed herself in the study of philosophy, natural science, and above all, theology and Biblical studies. She could discuss all of these subjects in depth, and instilled the love of the quest for knowledge and understanding in her family.

Naomi had an unshakable, unwavering faith in the Lord. And even in her later years when the terrible disease of dementia stole the vast majority of the large store of knowledge she had amassed, she always knew that she was loved by her family, her caregivers, and her Lord.

Naomi passed from this life into the next with the name of Jesus on her lips on July 24, 2024. Her life will be celebrated on Wednesday, July 31st in Corpus Christi, Texas at St. Pius X Catholic Parish with a Rosary at 10:30 am, a Funeral Mass at 11:30 am. She will be laid to rest beside her husband of 66 years, Deacon Stanley Millsap, at 1:00 pm in the family plot in Seaside Memorial Park.