Varina Hatcher

On June 23, 2011, Varina LeGalley Hatcher, 90, went peacefully to sleep in Choteau, MT, and woke up in Heaven. The funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 1, 2011 at Ivey Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Jeff Stapleton officiating and will conclude at the chapel. Interment will be at Oak City Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at Ivey Funeral Home. Online visitors may sign the guest register at www.iveyfuneral.com . Varina was born May 2, 1921 in Leon County, TX, the daughter of William H. LeGalley and Emma Nettles LeGalley. She was the fifth of eight children born of this union. Her mother became ill and passed away in January of 1929. Her father remarried to Julia Culefer and four more siblings arrived. Shortly after graduating from Buffalo High School, Varina married Edward Leonard. He was the best friend of her oldest brother. Eddie was the First Mate on the Lykes freighter, S. S. James McKay, and was lost with the entire crew when a German u-boat torpedoed the ship, which was ferrying ammunition to Great Britain in early 1941. Varina then moved to Houston, TX and worked as a civilian office employee at a facility which was a headquarters for the Army Air Corps 2nd Air Command. That is when she met and was married to E. W. "Pete" Hatcher, Jr. He was originally from Eldorendo and Bainbridge, GA. They enjoyed a marriage of 67 years and became the parents of four children, Gay, Lauren, Walon, and Kevin. Tragically, Walon died in a storm at the age of 19. Varina never fully recovered from the loss. Following World War II, Varina lived in Bainbridge where she raised her children, maintained her home with her husband, and became a "working mother" in order to help E. W. establish a comfortable home and future. They moved to Texas in 1957. Varina was always active in church. She was a member of Stewart Memorial Methodist Church as a young girl, became an active member of First Baptist Church in Bainbridge, and returned to her original church when she moved back to Buffalo, TX upon retirement. Varina was blessed with boundless energy, insatiable curiosity, and multiple creative talents and hobbies. At various times in her life, she was an avid reader, upholstered furniture, crocheted, made hats and many other hand work projects. She sewed complete wardrobes, including a bridal gown, veil, bridesmaids dresses, suits for her two young sons and drapes. Varina loved to sketch and paint, work in the garden, can fruits and vegetables, care for various farm animals and pets, and she loved her Saddle horse, Phantom. She and her husband, E. W., lived happily for 25 years of their retirement on the farm that was originally settled by her great-grand parents in 1856. She was able to enjoy her granddaughters, Jennifer and Katherine, and her two great-granddaughters, Sierra and Angie. Alzheimer's Disease and many small strokes slowly robbed her body of the essence that was Varina. Survivors include her son, Kevin Hatcher of San Antonio, TX; her daughters, Gay H. DeBakey and her husband, Duane, of Leander, TX and Lauren H. Hansen and her husband, Don, of Bynum, MT; two granddaughters, Jennifer DeBakey and Katherine DeBakey; two great-granddaughters, Sierra DeBakey and Angie Cardona, her five siblings, numerous nieces and nephews; and many cousins and friends. Mrs. Hatcher was preceded in death by her husbands, Edward Leonard and E. W. "Pete" Hatcher; and her son, Walon Hatcher.