Sandra Settegast Thompson Mewhinney of Houston and Holland, Texas, passed away peacefully on Thursday, the 24th of September 2015, after a courageous and never-ceasing battle with breast cancer. She was born on the 20th of December 1934 as the only child of Leon and Grace Laurie Settegast (nee Campbell). Sandy lived a life full of love, adventure, friendship and fellowship.
Sandy grew up proud of her Houston heritage dating back to 1849. Her maternal grandfather, Ben Campbell, served as Houston mayor from 1913 to 1917. Sandy attended Lamar High School and was voted Most Popular in her senior year and graduated in 1953. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin where she studied sociology and was a very active member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, serving most prominently as president of her chapter and graduated the University in 1956. Her love for Kappa continued after graduation as she served in many positions including president of the Houston Alumnae Association and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. Sandy served passionately in support of numerous other organizations, including as a volunteer at MD Anderson in its early years. She recalled taking children with cancer on picnics with sandwiches she made in her mother’s kitchen. Sandy was a lifetime member of the Houston Yacht Club, where she met her first husband, James Beach Thompson, and has remained a member until this day. Many recall watching her shimmy up a mast with ease and that there was never a foredeck she could not tackle. Sandy also enjoyed many years as a devoted member of the Junior League of Houston. She worked tirelessly in many board positions and recalled most fondly her days of acting and participating in their charity balls. Sandy was very active with the Greater Houston Area Red Cross as a volunteer and then as their Director of Development. She was also the Development Director for Episcopal High School. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she served as an active member in the Blue Bird Circle of Houston, and was a faithful member of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. She and Jimmy loved teaching Sunday school and she immensely enjoyed her years serving on altar guild.
After Jimmy’s death, Sandy was blessed by the sweet reconnection with her college beau, Richard Mewhinney, whom she married. She moved to Holland, Texas, and embraced a life focused on hunting and ranching. While living in Holland, Sandy participated as a Visionary member connected with the Temple Children’s Hospital, an active member in the Contemporaries of the Cultural Activity Center, and as a member of the Floral Arts Garden Club. She also cooked for and worked with Meals on Wheels at Grace Presbyterian Church in Temple. The two were also active participants in the Utopia, Texas, community, a special place for both of them. All the organizations Sandy worked with benefitted greatly from her can-do spirit and ability to bring people together for the greater good.
Sandy is survived by her loving husband of fifteen years, Richard Mewhinney, with whom she shared a love of the country life, hunting, traveling, and exploring, and sharing these experiences with her children and grandchildren. She is also survived by her two daughters, Tam Thompson of Austin, and Laurie Thompson Fondren and her husband, Leland of Houston, and their three daughters, Lauren, Brittany, and Catherine Fondren of Houston, and Lauren’s fiancé Derek Kelly of New York City; her Mewhinney daughters, Mary Mewhinney Smith of Plano, Texas, and Ann Mewhinney of Georgetown, Texas, and their children, Madison, Miranda, Connor, Kate and Suzanna; as well as countless dear friends. Sandy was preceded in death by her parents; and her first husband, Jimmy Thompson.
A memorial service celebrating Sandra’s life will be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning, on Tuesday, the 29th of September, at Christ Episcopal Church in Temple, Texas. A memorial service will also be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning, on Friday, the 2nd of October, at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston.
In lieu of usual remembrances, contributions in memory of Sandy may be directed to Cornerstone Recovery in Houston (where her granddaughter Brittany works providing hope for troubled youth); St. Martin’s Episcopal Church Outreach in Houston; Grace Presbyterian Church in Temple, Texas; the Contemporaries of the Cultural Activity Center in Temple, Texas; or the Utopia, Texas EMS.
Sandy always found ways to help others with her infectious enthusiasm. Anywhere she went, she made a lasting impression and secured enduring friends. If pallbearers were needed, they would include everyone she met. She was a shining example of overcoming obstacles with grace, dignity, and a sense of humor. It is in this way that Sandy’s friends and family will remember her amazing energy and shining spirit.
“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace!
That where there is hatred, I may bring love.
That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness.
That where there is discord, I may bring harmony.
That where there is error, I may bring truth.
That where there is doubt, I may bring faith.
That where there is despair, I may bring hope.
That where there are shadows, I may bring light.
That where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted.
To understand, than to be understood.
To love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.”
--Saint Francis of Assisi--
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