Waldeen Thomson Pearson

Waldeen Thomson Pearson died on Thursday, March 9, 2023, at the age of 97.  Her family will host a gathering of family and friends from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 16, 2023, at Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial Designers. A service celebrating her life is scheduled at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, March 17, 2023, at Lake Ridge Chapel. Please visit this page for a service broadcasting schedule, floral purchasing, and an area to share stories of Waldeen Pearson with her family.

Waldeen’s life was shaped by a simple but profound belief: People just need to know they are loved.

Waldeen made everyone feel like family. She was a quiet force of nature, blending no-nonsense pragmatism shaped by a childhood in the Great Depression with an unshakable faith that every life has value and can be nurtured through grace and love.

As anyone who knew Waldeen will tell you, she was never idle, believing she always had to have a purpose.

And as everyone whose life she touched will also tell you, there was purpose in everything she did.

Waldeen was born in Canutillo, Texas, near El Paso, March 2, 1926, the daughter of Kearby and Dottie Dorris. She was living in Canyon, Texas, as World War II was ending, going to college, and attending the Methodist Church. One day a newly returned Marine showed up at Sunday school. The attraction was immediate: He was the pastor’s son. He was entering the ministry. And he was single.

She was 20 when they married in 1946 and began a life of love, faith, and service.

Every time she and Carlton Thomson moved to a new church, her first order of business was obtaining a directory and learning the names of every member. Knowing who everyone was important to her, so she could meet their needs.

And she had to learn a lot of names. Waldeen and Carlton served at least 18 West Texas churches, both before and after “retiring” in Lubbock. Their family grew as they moved, with Jane, Tom and then Susan making the parsonages feel like home.

When a church got Carlton as minister, it was a package deal. Waldeen believed she was called to be a pastor’s wife and committed herself to that role at every stop. She had an impact on countless women’s lives through her leadership in the United Methodist Women organization. She and Carlton also were instrumental in bringing the Walk to Emmaus to West Texas, a ministry that continues to this day.

Toward the end of Carlton’s career, he and Waldeen served a church in Hermleigh. One member recalled how, when her father was dying, they were always there with a hug and a prayer. She talked of how much it meant to her dad that they would take the time to visit him, even though they hardly knew him.

Carlton died in 1995 after he and Waldeen had been married for nearly 48 years. Four years later, Waldeen received an unexpected phone call from Robert Pearson, whom she had met back in the ‘40s before he went off to war. That phone call led to Waldeen and Robert rekindling that long ago romance, and the couple married in 1999 and split their time between Canyon, Texas and Britton, South Dakota.

Waldeen embraced life with Robert. She took up hunting and ice fishing, and could even be spotted wearing camo, a sight that left Susan speechless.  Robert’s family, Lyle and Bryan and their families, took Waldeen in and loved her as their own and she them.

As time passed, her family grew. Waldeen had 12 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. She loved spending time with her Lubbock family, as anyone who ate lunch on Fridays at Rosa’s Café and Tortilla Factory would witness. She was surrounded by family and a plate of cheese enchiladas with sour cream sauce and a Dr Pepper – always a Dr Pepper.

To her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she was Gummie, a loving nickname bestowed on her by her first grandchild, Beverly. (Waldeen didn’t have the same love for the name, but she tolerated it for decades). Well into her 90s, she’d join the little ones on the floor for playtime, and she’d engage her great-grandchildren in conversation to learn the latest about their activities.

Waldeen showed her love for her grandchildren with the same sense of purpose with which she handled everything in her life. When her granddaughter, Jennifer, fell in love with a blue plaid dress with a white Peter Pan collar that was just too expensive, Gummie made an exact replica from memory. When her grandson, Thomas, needed some help in school, she moved to Kentucky for a bit.

Her generosity extended well beyond family, and well beyond Texas. At a celebration of her 90^th birthday, one of the women in attendance was Mary Akpovi. Back when Mary was young, Waldeen and Carlton had made it possible for her to leave Nigeria and join her husband in Abilene, go to college and eventually settle in America when a coup back home made it impossible to return.

The crowd at that celebration seven years ago was a testament to the impact Waldeen had on her family and her community, and to the difference one person can make by showing and sharing love.

Waldeen is survived by her sister Ann (Max) Maxwell; son-in-law,  Bob Martindale; children, Tom (Carol) Thomson and Susan (Dan) Nazworth; grandchildren, Cyndy (Derek) Strickland, Beverly (Mark) Horvit, Rob (Kylie) Martindale, Carlton (Amanda) Martindale, Leigh Martindale, Jennifer (Danny) Griffis, Craig (Kim) Thomson, Megan (Nathan) Prueitt, Cathryn (Jerod) Wright, Melody Nazworth (Will McClendon) and Thomas Nazworth; and great-grandchildren, SaraBeth Strickland, Elena and Nathan Horvit, Cody, Blake, Grace, C. J., Caden, Declan and Dominic Martindale, Wyatt, Sabrina, Colter, Monique, Zane, Laurel and Boone Griffis, Abi, Grady and Colby Thomson, Alice, Annabelle and  Zachary Prueitt, and Elizabeth, Grant, Charlotte and Claire Wright; and other dearly loved nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents; sisters Evangeline Brewer and Wanda VanValkenburg, brother Glenn Dorris; spouses, Carlton Hubert Thomson, and Robert Donald Pearson; daughter Jane Martindale; and granddaughter, Sarah Martindale.

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