Magdalene Jones was of a family that had settled and lived in the Red River valley when it was part of the Spanish Empire.  Traveling from Virginia via Illinois and Missouri, her progenitors, John Henry Stout and his wife Sarah (Talbot) Stout arrived in the area of Red River County in 1818.  The family grew in numbers but remained there on one side of the Red River or the other until the upheaval of World War II which dispersed many families across the state, country and around the world.  Still, the core of the family remained in and around Red River County and on an annual basis, Mrs. Jones journeyed to Boxelder, Texas for the family reunion comprising the Stouts and Foglemans.

Mrs. Jones was the youngest of 13 children born to Buelah (Stout) Fogleman and Walter Claude Fogleman on December 23, 1923 in Schultz, Oklahoma.  Like so many of the southern rural population of the time, her father, in addition to subsistence farming to feed the family, raised cotton as a cash crop which he shared with the owner of the land he farmed  The labor of the enterprise involved the entire family and Magdalene’s initial introduction to the work force was as a young child chopping and, at the end of the season, picking cotton.  As the youngest child, when not absolutely needed in the field at harvest time, she worked with her mother in the kitchen; cooking.  It was from her mother that she learned all the secrets of fine southern cooking which was always enjoyed (relished) by her friends and family through all the years of her life.

By Madge’s teen years, the family had moved to and lived in Boxelder, Texas she attended Annona High School where she played varsity basketball.  She graduated high school in May, 1941.  After graduation she moved to Dallas at age 16 or 17 where she lived in the YWCA until she found work caring for two little children as a nanny.  She enrolled in a beautician school in Dallas and completed that course in April, 1942.  She moved to Denison, Texas where she and her sister Mary opened a beauty shop which they operated together.  World War II broke out in December 1941 and Madge’s future husband, Hampton, was in training with the U.S. Army at a nearby army base in Sherman, Texas.  They met at a USO dance in June, 1942 and at the age of 19 years and after a short courtship, Madge married Hampton at the Episcopal Church in Denison on October 3, 1942.  She and her new husband were frequently parted because of the uncertainty of military life for an enlisted man during war time.  But finally he was more or less permanently stationed in Connecticut.  Their first child, Carol Kay, was born in Hartford on November 22, 1943.  Madge was 20 years old at the time. In January, 1944, after a short stint in Connecticut, they were transferred to Spokane, Washington from which point Hampton was sent to war in the Pacific theater.  While they were stationed in Spokane, Madge obtained employment as a riveter in an aircraft manufacturing facility.  She was literally one Rosie the Riveter made famous by Norman Rockwell.  After Hampton’s departure, Madge and Carol returned to Texas and lived in Boxelder, Texas with her parents.  During her life there, she worked for a short time at the Red River Arsenal.  After a short while, however, she revived her business relationship with her old partner, her sister Mary, and they opened M&M (Mary and Madge) Beauty Shop in New Boston, Texas. 

In 1946, Hampton was discharged from the army and they moved to McKinney, Texas and then, in 1950, to Dallas.  During their time in McKinney, their son Don was born on February 28, 1947.  In Dallas, they both worked and Hampton spent 8 years attending Southern Methodist University where he graduated in 1956.   During this time, Madge, in addition to working and raising a family (daughter Sue arrived December 3, 1952) completed 2 years of Business College.

In 1960 the family moved to Houston, Texas.  She continued her work career becoming the chief bookkeeper for an independent oil company and, finally, after acquiring a real estate seller’s license she sold real estate in and around Houston.  She retired in 1987 and, after building a home on Lake Conroe north of Houston, lived there until 1999.  Because of the failing health of her husband she moved to Beaumont where she lived until her passing on January 10, 2014 at the age of 90 years and 17 days.

Madge was raised in the Baptist denomination.  But her husband was Episcopalian and she became an Episcopalian upon marriage.  In 1954, after attending Lover’s Lane Methodist Church in Dallas, they became Methodists.  Madge was devoted to her church whatever its location and served in many offices throughout her active life both while working and well into retirement.  Most of her closest friendships and associations were rooted in church activities and relationships.        
 

Madge was a firm believer in education both for herself and her children.  It was largely through her example and urging that all three of her children completed their education; each one earning a college degree. She was, herself, very well educated in a much greater sense than academics can impart.  The variety of work in which she engaged (nanny, bookkeeper, beautician, medical clerk, real estate sales, juvenile justice) gave her a practical erudition that consistently brought her to the top echelon among her fellow employees.   She was well traveled ultimately having journeyed to 4 of the 5 continents.  And she was well studied in the cultures she visited.  She was a lover of theater and fine music from diverse cultures and places. 

She derived her greatest pleasure from family gatherings and reunions both of her extended and immediate family.  She most especially enjoyed entertaining at the retirement home she and Hampton planned and built on Lake Conroe.  Planning and arranging these get-togethers was an unrecognized service to her children and grandchildren because it provided an opportunity for all to gather and retell old stories, relate new news and refresh the love that flowed from her through her children and grandchildren.

She had a competitive side to her that “spiced up” every gathering whether with family or just friends.  She was a lover of games and the social opportunities they afforded.  Whether participating in athletics or games or just observing them, she was informed, involved and conversant turning each event into an opportunity for participation by all.    

Madge entered Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital on her birthday, December 23, 2013 with a diagnosis of pneumonia.  Her condition worsened as the days progressed and her three children devoted themselves to round-the-clock care in her last days.  She died January 10, 2014.  Madge was preceded in death by her parents, all her siblings and her husband.  She is survived by her children Carol  Flatten, Don Hampton and Sue Shelton and their respective spouses, Gerald, Laura and Steve; seven grandchildren: Charles and Eric Flatten, Catherine Nickle, Christi Buerger, Sean Hampton, Eve Sawyer and Scott Shelton and six great-grandchildren: William and Caroline Nickle, Drew and Lauren Magdalene Buerger, Silas Flatten and Charles Shephard Flatten.   

A gathering of Mrs. Jones’ family and friends will be from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m., in McKnight Parlor at Trinity United Methodist Church, 3430 Harrison Avenue, Beaumont, with her funeral service to follow at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 14, 2014, in the sanctuary.  Interment will follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Beaumont, under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Mrs. Jones’ memory to Trinity United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 5247, Beaumont, Texas  77726.