Mary Delora Parmelee Bilbray Draper

Mary was born to the late Jessie and Ferris Bilbray, on Friday, October 26, 1923 in Fort Worth, Texas. Mary graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School in 1940 where she carried the Texas flag as a member of the Scottish Brigade. She married the late Dr. John Parmelee in 1944 and lived together in Rockdale, Texas where they raised their three children, John Jay Jr., Janet, and Judith.

Mary married Michael Draper in 1971 and relocated to Houston where she worked at Andrews and Kurth for over 20 years, making lifelong friends and memories. Following retirement, Mary and Mike loved to travel and visited countless U.S. monuments and landmarks. She was an active member of Second Baptist Church of Houston where she participated in the Gospel Truth Bible study class.

Mary is survived by her loving and devoted husband of over 40 years, Mike; three children: Jay and wife Carol Parmelee of Dallas; Janet and husband Roger Leininger of Houston; and Judy and husband Marc Arnold of Austin. She is also survived by grandchildren Clay and wife Tonya Leininger, Neil Leininger, and Brennan and Courtney Parmelee; great-grandchildren Julia, Tierney, and Laura Scout Leininger; numerous nieces and nephews, dear friends, and her beloved dachshund, Heidi.

In lieu of flowers, the family politely requests that donations be made to the American Diabetes Association, 2400 Augusta Drive Houston, Texas 77057 (713) 977-7706, http://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/local-offices/houston-texas/ or Second Baptist Church of Houston, (713) 465-3408, http://www.second.org/woodway.aspx

A celebration of Mary’s life was held on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. in the Hankamer Chapel of Second Baptist Church of Houston, 6400 Woodway Drive, Houston, Texas 77057.