Anna Renshaw Mowery

MOWERY, ANNA RENSHAW (1931 ~ 2017). The following is an obituary for Anna Renshaw Mowery, former member of the Texas House of Representatives. The obituary was published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Anna Mowery, 86, a former Texas State Representative who served 19 years in the legislature, died Thursday April 20, 2017, in Fort Worth of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Funeral: 11 a.m. Saturday, April 29, at Travis Avenue Baptist Church. Burial: 10 a.m. Monday, May 1 at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. The family wishes to express our gratitude to Dr. Robert Kelly and staff, and to Autumn Claypool for her devoted care for our mother.

Anna Bess Renshaw was born on Jan. 4, 1931, in Decatur to Lafayette William Renshaw and Virginia Early Bobo Renshaw She attended schools in Rhome, graduating from Rhome High School in 1947. Her first job was weighing grain trucks at her father's mill. It was during the 1930s that her father was paid $5,000 by General Mills for the right to sell flour under the label "Gold Medal" which the Renshaws had been using for years.

After high school, Ms. Mowery attended Baylor University, earning a bachelor's degree in drama, speech, and political science since 1951, the same year she married Wesley Mowery. She later earned a master's in history and speech in 1967 from Central State University in Edmond, Oklahoma. The family lived in Alaska for a year, returned to Texas, then moved to Oklahoma City and Abilene before moving to Fort Worth in 1970.

Anna went to Austin in 1988 after more than 13 years as the Tarrant County Republican Chair, the first woman to head a major political party in the county. In the role, she was instrumental in setting the foundation for making the county a Republican stronghold. As a member of the legislature, Rep. Mowery was elected to the Texas House of Representatives 10 times from district 97, between 1988-2006. During her tenure, she served on the Appropriations Committee, as well as Elections, Labor and Employment Relations, Business and Industry, Administration, and Land and Resource Management committees. She was a chairman of the Land and Resource Management Committee.

"The two things my mom gave me was an unbigoted world view and a love of the written word," said her son Mark. "Those two things are the greatest gift a parent can give a child." She was preceded in death by her parents and ex-husband.

Survivors: In addition to her son, Mark Mowery; she is survived by daughter, Jeanette Mowery Hefferman; son, Tim Mowery, and daughter, Marianne Fichera; and grandchildren, Wesley Fichera, Anna Hefferman, Marissa Fichera and Camille Fichera.

Published in Star-Telegram on Apr. 28, 2017