Audrey Covington
December 20, 1926 — March 14, 2011
Audrey Rita Covington December 20, 1926 "March 14, 2011 Our Mom passed away peacefully during her sleep in the morning hours of March 14, 2011 at the age of 84. She was the only daughter of Alvaro and Josephine Mendez and grew up along the gulf coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana. Although Audreys mother died while she was just a teenager, she often fondly recounted her childhood time growing up in New Orleans and along the Mississippi River and the coast. She was extremely musical and had a wonderful singing voice, so much so, that in her teens, she had her own radio show in New Orleans. She particularly enjoyed show tunes, musicals, theater, ballet, opera, and other musical endeavors. You could not walk into her house without hearing Sinatra, Glen Miller and his Big Band, or Perry Como, or Herb Albert. Audrey graduated from Ole Miss University with a degree in Education (where she was a member of the Delta Zeta sorority). She met our father, Robert Covington, shortly after WWII. As the wife of a high school football coach, they lived in a number of towns in Louisiana and Texas during their younger years and ultimately settled in San Antonio and Converse. During her early teaching years, she coached girls basketball, gave piano lessons, and taught kindergarten in her home. Audrey taught at John Glen Elementary in the East Central ISD, Burbank High School, and eventually settled into teaching elementary school in the Judson ISD system until her retirement. Later in her teaching career, she obtained her Masters Degree in special education from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. She helped many children who experienced learning difficulties with a selfless dedication to help them improve. It was there that she met some who were to become dear life-long friends. Following retirement, she volunteered as a reading teacher at Comal Elementary School. She was an active member of the Windcrest United Methodist Church for many years as well as a local Garden Club member. Audrey thoroughly enjoyed her grandchildren and loved hearing about or attending whatever they were into at the time. On most Friday nights she was at some sporting event cheering on her husbands teams (or coaching her own teams early on), then her childrens teams, and finally her grandchildrens teams from her little electric scooter. She was involved in Garden Clubs as far back as any of us can remember. She was an accomplished quilter, knitter, and seamstress who made many a costume seen on local stages during her daughter Dinas performances. As a former English teacher, she loved to write, and wove each years family events into her annual Christmas Letter. The meter and rhyme always seemed to work. She tirelessly cared for our father during his long battle with cancer. When he passed, she wrote a memorable passage that we recall below: and someday soon when youre not so sad, Youll laugh with me at the good times weve had. Since I got here first, Ill put the coffee on, And Im depending on you to Carry on! Now make the chocolate, and trim the tree, That angel on the top might just be me. To this we now add: "Im here now, so make some room, just in time to see the flowers bloom. We put down roots with the seeds weve sown, So dont cry for meIm already home." Audrey is survived by her son Rick and wife Terry, daughter Terri, son David and wife Mary Kay, daughter Dina and husband Artie, and son Sean and wife Julie. In addition, she leaves 12 grandchildren (Heather, Chris, Curt, Cody, Carly, Caleb, Quinten, Jason, Jeremy, Aubrey, Jacob, and Abby) and 7 great grandchildren (Devon, Brielle, Conner, Cole, Cort, Rhett, and William). Mom had a wonderful spirit and tended to brighten a room simply due to her personality. We could not have asked for a better mother, grandmother, mentor, and friend. We are deeply saddened by her passing, although we know she is in a better place alongside our Dad in Heaven. Mom carried her children through life, was a rock for many, and is now being carried to a final resting place in the arms of the Lord. Remembering Mom (Rick). Shes one of a kind. A book could be written, but here are just a few things that I think helped contribute to Mom being such a very special person. I loved to listen to her talk about her childhood, growing up in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. She enjoyed riding the St. Charles trolley car and the big city life in New Orleans, but was equally at home in the water, telling us about swimming off the bay piers during storms. She absolutely loved the water. How she married a farm boy from Mississippi I do not know, but they had a wonderful life together. Mom enjoyed traveling, and took trips with Terry and I to New England and Alaska. She loved to drive in the country, and she made several quilting shop hops covering central Texas with Terry. She could ride and listen to her music for hours and hours. Mom refused to let any personal physical ailments dampen her spirits. She gave so much to so many; raising 5 children, teaching children until retirement, participating at church on the womens council, helping with vacation bible school, the prayer chain, and other activities. Just a year or two ago, she talked about making things in the Garden Club for the old people at a local seniors home. She stood by us in good times and in bad times, and was always a shining example of being just a wonderful person. Mom was selfless in helping others, was always able to smile, and with a twinkle in her eyes, she would say something or sing a silly song to make everyone else smile with her. Mom will be missed a lot by many people, but I know she would want us to Carry On. Remembering Mom (Terri). My dearest memories. Sandwiched between Ricky and David, mom was concerned that I might become a tomboy, so she enrolled me in dance lessons at an early age. However, my very short-lived dancing career was over by the time we moved to the big city of San Antonio. Mom had me doing so many other things. From singing duets (2 part harmonies), being her dance partner for the jitterbug, knitting, crocheting and crafts, to sewing my own clothes and being a seamstress for others, I learned many things from Mom. We were into those things and at one time talked about opening a small shop of plants, crafts, art work, and books. She was a phenomenal writer and had a secret desire to write childrens books. It goes with her love of teaching kindergarten & being around little ones. I even assisted her now and then on her many volunteer stints with vacation bible school. Of course, then my Heather came along and she was thrice blessed w/2 moms & Dad. And wouldnt you know it; Heather took dancing lessons as well! Mom was at every recital! When my granddaughters came, she was not just a great-grammy, but very involved with my babies, yet again a teacher and advisor. During the last several months when I would come down to help her, we became even closer. We giggled and laughed about too many things to mention, had more secrets with each other and completely enjoyed being together. Boy, did we talk! I just couldnt get enough of her stories of childhood, college, coaching, and her early years with Dad from dating to marriage. She talked of her mom, and how her dad would drive all day on Sunday to a spring for water for her mom to drink all week long and the fun of that outing. She spoke about the simple pleasures of fresh sweet onion or cucumber sandwiches from their garden during the summer, to actually riding barrels in the waves (broken loose from floating piers during a hurricane)! She had fond memories of her sorority and her dreams of travel, and how she realized a lot of those! We talked of politics, and of our society, now and back then. I hated so much to leave each time, and just couldnt get enough of my precious dear mom and friend. Yet as she gently prodded me out the door she always made sure to say Ill see you back here really soon! Im not going anywhere . While no longer physically among us, she is and always will be in my heart and mind. I know shes up there with dad, HER dad & mom, her dear friends and relations, laughing and loving as always! Most importantly, she is with our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus and is at peace with no more pain. One of the most important lessons that we can learn from Mom"to honor her and her life is to LOVE unconditionally, laugh as much as possible-especially at yourself, and to just do the right thing. She was my mom, my teacher, my mentor, my buddy, my dearest and most precious advisor, my inspiration, my comedian and my love. I admired her more than ANYONE Ive ever known or heard of, and am so very truly blessed and honored to have been loved by her, and to be her daughter. Ive always wanted to be like my mom and will keep honoring her by trying to be the daughter she had always wanted, needed, and prayed for, and with Gods help, I will be. Remembering Mom (David). My buddy. Mom had an incredible sense of humor that I think carried over to all of her children, her grandchildren, and her many great-grand children. She was intelligently funny and could spin a witty yarn or two. And she was quick to laugh at herself as well. Mom was known for her cooking skills which ranged from masterpieces to kitchen disasters. You see, while she was a good cook, she loved to talk, and sometimes, something didnt quite make it out of the oven in time. So when I gave her a sign that read, If it aint burnt, momma didnt cook it , I wasnt sure how shed take it. Mom proudly hung that sign in her kitchen where it still hangs today. She never took herself too seriously, and thats why it was always fun to hang out with Mom. Remembering Mom (Dina) Thank you, Mom. I wasnt much of a girlie girl when I was young, so Mom enrolled me in a dance class when I was 10. That started a beautiful journey that I will cherish always. Mom tirelessly took me to dance class first one, then two, then three, four, five times a week. And performances on top of that! I cant believe she never tired of seeing the same dance numbers over and over, but she never let on if she did, and she never complained even after many, many late night costume sewing sessions. I always looked to Mom after a performance. She was my greatest critic and my most ardent supporter. Thank you, Mom, for your honesty and unending generosity. She is the reason I had so many fabulous experiences. She always made sure I knew there was nothing I couldnt tackle. I aspire to be even part of what she is. When I was to be married, I told her if she had not been my mother, I would have had her standing beside me as one of my dearest friends. Caleb and Quint were also given the most precious good fortune of not only knowing their grandmother, but experiencing the complete joy which was Grammy. She was what any child would imagine a grandmother to be. And boy did she love her football. There was no way you were going to keep her away from watching her two boys on the gridiron on Friday and Saturday nights. That woman knew her way around a football field, and had no qualms in correcting referees who had made a rotten call. No one messes with an 84 year old woman. There are so many things I will miss, from her mannerisms that belonged only to her and our bantering back and forth, to her own special sayings like Will someone when there was only one person in the room. You all know exactly what I mean. Mom was my dance/theatre, ballet buddy. One of her favorites was West Side Story, and for Xmas, we bought her tickets to see it at the Majestic. The show will be next weekend, and even though I know her beautiful spirit will be with me, I selfishly want to experience it with her. I want to hear her singing every song (because we know all the words, and because she would sing) and see her head swaying back and forth to the beat, and her nudging me when our favorite dance number America starts. She is an integral part of me. I adore her. Until we meet again, Mamita, all my love. Remembering Mom (Sean). Appreciation of time. When Mom broke her hip, she came and lived with us for about a month or so. During that time, I learned more about her and her early life than I had ever known. She got to spend time with the kids during that time that also allowed them to get to know her. We took her to a few football games in a wheel chair and a few softball games. She enjoyed them all and we certainly enjoyed the time we got together. We had breakfast together every morning after I shipped everyone off to school, during which we had some nice long talks and some debates where we agreed to disagree. I am fortunate to have had this time with her. Remembering Mom (Terry). From shopping buddy to best and dearest friend. The moment I joined the Covington family 35 years ago, Audrey welcomed me with a smile and open arms. I started taking her on shopping outings just to get her out of the house during Bobs long battle with cancer. And we discovered the love of the same things and became closer and closer. Our outings evolved from clothes shopping to quilting about ten years ago when Audrey asked me to go to a Quilt Show with her. From then on we were off and running with our love of quilting. From sewing together to mad dashes around central Texas on a quilting shop hop , we felt like co-conspirators daring the woes of old age to touch us! We laughed and laughed at our many antics and would only drag ourselves home at the end of the day because it was time for dinner. I will miss her dearly, and her smile, her energy and dedication to family are with me always. I can only hope to be like her now that I am a mother-in-law myself. What a true blessing she was. Remembering Mom (Mary Kay). A teacher of life. I have been blessed to be Audreys daughter-in-law for the past 36 years. She taught me many invaluable life lessons just by the way she lived her life. I will always remember the way she attacked the inevitable problems that life brought her way, with joy and humor. Since we were both teachers, we always enjoyed sharing stories with each other. She probably had no clue that, as I made my way through my teaching career, I always considered her very much my mentor. Her outlook on life was relaxed, positive, and she knew things would always work out. I was just telling someone a couple of months ago that as challenging situations arose I would ask myself What Would Audrey Do? I thank her for being the mother of the husband I love, the ever-present grandmother in her grandchildrens lives, and a blessing to all who were lucky enough to have known her. Visitation - Schertz Funeral Home (2217 FM 3009) on Wednesday March 23, 5:00 to 7:30. Funeral Service - Windcrest United Methodist Church on Thursday March 24, 2011 at 10:00. Burial - Ft. Sam Houston Cemetery at 11:45. Donations to the National Kidney Foundation can be made in Audreys name.
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