After a courageous and valiant battle with cancer, Barbara Lee Voit passed in peace at her home in Houston on Saturday, the 1st of September 2018. Born in Huntsville, Texas on the 20th of February 1936, to Beatrice and Hubert Smith, she was a 1954 honors graduate of Lubbock High School. In 1958, she went on to graduate from Texas Tech University, once again with honors, and was named to Who’s Who in American Women in Colleges and Universities along with being a Ford Foundation grant recipient. She taught Home Economics in the Lubbock area before moving to Germany with her first husband and father of her children, Bill Hamilton. They moved to Houston in 1969 and she enjoyed a long and prosperous career as a realtor for Nancy Sartain and Coldwell Banker.
In 1986, while working at Nancy Sartain, she met Theodore Edward (Ed) Voit, an aerospace engineer at NASA. They were then married in 1988 and were long time members of Covenant Baptist Church and avid supporters of Houston’s civic and community life. With a cadre of gourmet and gourmand friends she formed a gourmet club that she enjoyed for almost 50 years. She enjoyed sweet fellowship and community with her women’s group, The Fronds.
Her life was full of outrageous fun and adventure. Over their years together, Barbara and Ed traveled through Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, Africa, as well as South and North America. Barbara’s curiosity and verve made museums, galleries, theatre and history a lifelong pursuit. Her enthusiasm and energy fueled the lives of her, children, grandchildren and extended family. Laughter followed wherever she went. A loving, loyal daughter, mother, sister and friend, Barbara was the spark and gravitational center of her universe, drawing all she loved towards her like a force of nature. Her warmth was a magnet to all who knew her. She challenged everyone to strive to be more than they dreamed.
Thanksgiving in Hilton Head, Christmas in Vail, July 4th at their lake house; every special occasion had its place. Whether dining out or in, going to movies, cooking with friends and most importantly, spending extended quality time with her grandchildren--she had boundless enthusiasm and energy for new experiences as well as new friends. There was nothing she liked better than a great conversation or a great read.
She is predeceased by her husband, Ed Voit and her parents, Beatrice and Hubert Smith. Survivors include her sister, June Elizabeth Smith Weiss of Denver, Colorado; her children, Leigh Hamilton (Joe) Bogar of Denver & Austin, and Mark (Stephanie) Hamilton of Houston; grandchildren, Kristin Elizabeth Bogar (Joe) Satterfield, Kathryn Leigh Bogar, William Henry Hamilton, Robert Louis Hamilton, and Michael Christian Hamilton; Ed Voit’s children, Regan (Lynn) Voit of Columbus, SC, Gary (Adrienne) Voit of Spring, TX and their daughters Ashley Voit (Ryan) Reesor and Elizabeth Voit (Christopher) Choate both of Houston and great-grandchildren, Emily Catherine Choate and Andrew Thomas Choate; Teresa Voit (Joe) Pierce of Houston, TX and their daughter Monica Pierce (Colby Wilson) and great-grandchildren April and Mason Wilson.
The family wishes to give heartfelt thanks to Rita Glover and Freda Burton for their kind and loving care of their mother.
Friends were invited to a visitation yesterday evening Tuesday, the 4th of September, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons.
The memorial service is to be conducted at two o’clock this afternoon Wednesday, the 5th of September, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.
Prior to the memorial service, the family will have gathered for a private interment at Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Houston.
The family will be grateful for contributions to Texas Children’s Cancer Center-- the Faris D. Virani Ewing Sarcoma Center or to Covenant Church Building Fund, 4949 Caroline St. Houston, TX 77004
In memory of Barbara Voit and notifications sent to her daughter, Leigh Bogar, PO Box 161593, Austin, TX 78716
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