Vera Hope Stowell passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her children on May 5, 2022, at the age of 93. She was born on October 18, 1928, and to Vera and Fidencio in Houston, Texas. Her family lived across the street from St. Joseph Catholic Church, where her family faithfully attended. The family was dealt an early blow when Fidencio passed away in 1936, leaving her mother to raise four daughters during the depression. The nuns and priests at Saint Joseph's provided watchful guidance over the family, and the girls attended Saint Joseph Catholic School through 7th grade. Vera went to work at the age of 13 at Weingarten's grocery store, pulling ration stamps during WWII. In 8th grade, Vera joined her older sisters, Gloria and Elaine, at Incarnate Word Academy. She graduated from IWA in 1945 at the age of 16. She attended University of Houston for one year and left to help open up opportunities for the returning WWII GIs. Vera then went to work for S.G. Raphael Insurance Co.

Vera met Frank at a church youth dance and looked forward to his visits when he was stationed at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. They married in Houston in May, 1952, and started their married life at Camp Gordon in Augusta, Georgia. They returned to Houston to start a family after Frank was honorably discharged from the Army.

Frank and Vera were original and lifelong residents of Post Oak Manor subdivision where they raised their three children, Denise, Cindy and Frank. They joined Corpus Christi Catholic Church, where Vera taught Bible School, sold hot dogs during lunch, and was a Brownie and Girl Scout leader. She was also active in the Women's Club. She and Frank met a group of friends at Corpus Christi that they remained close to for years. She loved spending time with her family and extended family, including her mother, aunts, uncles, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins and co-cousins. The family gatherings at the Stowell house included enjoying Vera's tacos. She would make around 100 tacos along with her lemon, chocolate, and apple pies to feed all the relatives.

Once her children started school, she went back to work, first at Methodist Hospital, followed by Ledbetter Clinic, and finally retiring from M.D. Anderson in 1994. She learned to needlepoint and crochet and started making afghan blankets for her children and grandchildren as they went off to college. Vera's family always felt her loving embrace present in the handmade blankets even when miles of distance kept them apart. Her retirement years were spent traveling to Denver, Orlando, Salt Lake City and Fort Worth to visit Denise, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She helped them pack and unpack with every move and loved to help organize, especially in the kitchen.

Vera showed her family what a "tough old bird" she was and her strong faith, by overcoming breast cancer when she had surgery at M.D. Anderson in 1970. Twenty years later, she overcame colon cancer, having surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. In her 80s she had two major surgeries and a stroke and recovered under the guidance of the many healthcare teams at Houston Methodist Hospital. These challenges never slowed her down for long and she always had a smile on her face. In between all her own medical episodes, she was always by Frank's side during his two heart bypasses, hip replacements and other health issues and continued to be by his side every day until his passing in 2020. They both benefited from living near the Texas Medical Center. Our family especially thanks Dr. Albert Raizner for the special care he gave to Vera and Frank for almost 40 years.

Vera is predeceased by her husband of 68 years, Frank; her sisters Gloria, Elaine and Theresa (Teddy) and infant sibling Mary Theresa. She is survived by daughter, Denise (wife of Will) Reeves; daughter, Cindy Stowell; and son, Frank W. Stowell, III. Frank and Vera were blessed with four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 1801 Sage Road, Houston, TX 77056 on June 24th at 10:00 AM with a reception following at the Parish Life Center. Live stream link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlAZhViW34A