Violet L'Hommedieu, 89

Violet L'Hommedieu, 89, passed away Monday, May 19, 2008, at the Colonial Manor Nursing Home in Whitefish of natural causes, and in the same manner in which she lived her life - with gentleness, grace, and great dignity.

Violet was born in Sanger, Texas, on Jan. 13, 1919, to Ida Watson Bryant and Goble Frederick Bryant. After graduating with an education degree from Texas Woman's University and North Texas State in 1938, she returned to Sanger to begin a long and distinguished teaching career.

In 1939, she accepted a teaching position in Port Arthur, Texas, where she met and subsequently married Louis Phelps L'Hommedieu in 1940, and where her first son, Phelps, was born in 1942. At the end of World War II, the family returned to Dallas, where Violet would teach in the Dallas Independent School District, and where she positively touched the lives of hundreds of children and teens for the next 40 years. Her second son, Stevan, was born in 1950. In 1968, Violet returned to North Texas State University and earned a master's degree in guidance and counseling, and thereafter worked as a counselor until her retirement in 1985.

Violet was preceded in death by her parents, Ida and Goble Bryant; son, Stevan; and husband, Lou.

She is survived by her son, Phelps L'Hommedieu, and wife, Nancy, of Whitefish; granddaughters, Brittany L'Hommedieu of Everett, Wash., and Megan L'Hommedieu of Whitefish; brother, Goble Watson Bryant, and wife, Barbara, of Atlanta; nephews, Watson Bryant and family, and Bruce Bryant and family, all of Atlanta; niece, Barbara Williams and family, of Richmond, Va.; and special friend, Donella L'Hommedieu, of Whitefish.

Showing the heart of a lion until the end, Violet's remarkable strength, her endless capacity to love, and her engaging sense of humor will be missed by all who knew her.

Austin Funeral Home in Whitefish was in charge of arrangements.