TAMEA HENDERSON HEMPHILL

Tamea Hemphill, 71, of San Angelo, passed away Friday, November 18, 2005. Family visitation will be held at 4:00-6:00 PM, Saturday, 19, 2005 at the Robert Massie Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM, Monday, November 21, 2005 at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church with Rector Allen Conkling officiating. Burial will follow at Fairmount Cemetery. Arrangements are made by Robert Massie Funeral Home. Tamea was born March 23, 1934, in Phoenix, Arizona to Rector L. Henderson and Betty Kearney Henderson. While Tamea was in high school, she enjoyed writing so much that she was a ghost-writer of essays and other assignment for friends. One of her friends came back to her with the essay she had written for him --the teacher had given him an "F" because it was so good he couldn't have written it. That student was William A. "Billy" Hemphill, whom she married on January 2, 1943 in San Angelo, Texas. They were married for 58 years until his death on July 2, 2002. Between high school and marriage, she studied Liberal Arts at Christian College in Missouri. As an adult, Tamea was very active in community affairs. She was especially concerned with the needs of children and families and continued to support those causes until her death. In the early 1960s, she conducted a state wide survey of county judges for the League of Women Voters to develop information on Texas juvenile justice system. She always expanded her horizons and showed her children how to do the same. She later became involved in operating the family ranch in Schleicher County, Texas, and developed a prize-winning herd of registered Brangus cattle. She and her husband were honored by the Texas Soil Conservation Service for their work in reclamation and preservation. Survivors are: Three sons:David Hemphill of Austin John Hemphill and wife, Nancy of San Angelo Clay Hemphill and wife, Lei of Houston Four granddaughters and two great-granddaughters. Tamea was a proper Southern Lady in every sense of the word. She will be remembered for her intelligence, wit, generosity, graciousness and kindness. Memorials may be given to Emmanuel Episcopal Church or a favorite charity, in lieu of flowers.