Wanda DeLaune

On the evening of October 6th, 2020, Wanda DeLaune of Alice, Texas passed from this life to the next at the age of 87. She suffered a fall which triggered a quick decline.

Wanda was born on June 2nd, 1933 to Lillian and Lester Hawkins in Cookeville, Tennessee. She shared a birthday with her sister Dolores and her other siblings included her sister Bonnie and her baby brother Jimmy Dale. She continued lasting relationships with her siblings and their families -- many which still live in the lush hills of Tennessee.

Wanda met Bernie DeLaune on a blind date.  They married in 1954.  She was very proud of Bernie’s US Marine Corps uniform and his adventurous spirit.  They moved to Texas to begin their partnership growing a family and a Texas oilfield company.  Wanda was a proud mother of four -- Brenda, Mark, Lou Ann, and Lee. She actively shared in the success of DeLaune Drilling for decades, but her heart was always with her children, maintaining a lasting bond with her family in Texas and her extensive relatives in Tennessee. Wanda was a Tomboy at the Tennessee farm and also at the 4D Ranch that Bernie ran in later years.   She hunted and fished as often as time allowed. Throughout her long life, she sang Alto in her church choir, taught bible school, and served as a volunteer in many charitable campaigns. She was a member and officer in the Petroleum Wives Club, and the Alicians Club to name but a few. World travel with her husband was one of her passions. They visited Africa, Australia, and Europe.  They went to many destinations throughout  Mexico, in Central America, and in South America. Long car rides up and down both continental coasts in America were included among family vacation memories. Wanda could camp on hunting leases as easily as she could dine on Fifth Avenue in NYC. Every adventure was a shared experience with friends and family.  Whenever she was encouraged to get rest during travel or on some family gathering, one phrase she often repeated was: “I can’t leave now. I might miss something!”.

Wanda is preceded in death by parents, both sisters, her husband, and her first born daughter- Brenda Joyce.

She is survived by her brother, her daughter, and her two sons.  She leaves four granddaughters, nine grandsons, and seventeen great-grandchildren.

Services will begin Friday, October 16th, 2020 at 10:00 A.M. at the First Baptist Church in Alice, Texas and will continue at graveside on the 4D Ranch near Orange Grove.  

We ask that those attending wear a mask to protect others who are at high-risk for Covid contraction complications.  

In lieu of flowers, make donations to www.driscollchildrens.org

Arrangements are entrusted to Holmgreen Mortuary, 2061 E. Main St., Alice, Texas.

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