Martha Gordon Tepera

Muenster, TX 

Address information may be obtained by emailing your request to the webmaster

The amazing accomplishments and interesting lives!  I’m enjoying the biographies so much and can hardly believe forty-five years have gone by and so much has happened to the Class of ’58.

As for myself, I received a degree in home economics from UT, marrying Joe Tepera (of Crosby, Texas) and having a baby in the process.  After I got out of college we moved to Ft. Worth where my husband began his career in the aerospace industry.  He retired several years ago and now does consulting from time to time.

We have relocated several times, each getting us a little farther north to where we now live on ranch land, twelve miles from Muenster, Texas and about four miles south of the Oklahoma line.  We have a few animals of our own but are also a “depository” for grandchildren’s 4H projects that fail to make the sale! 

We were greatly blessed with five sons and four daughters, including twin boys, one of whom is himself the father of twin boys.  There are fifteen grandchildren, ranging from teenage to under a year.  By some miracle all of our kids made it through college ending with our youngest daughter receiving a degree in architecture this spring and youngest son completing aeronautical engineering and now a second year law student at UT.

Though most of my life has obviously been centered around our large family, in the last few years I’ve gotten more into quilting, decorating and landscaping with Texas native plants.  For several years I was a soprano with the North Central Texas Chorale and sang in a number of major European cathedrals, including Notre Dame.  After this last move, however, distance forced me to stop.

After the death of Mother (1981) and Daddy (1993), I was reunited with my biological parents.  Imagine my surprise to find a sister who was in Sara’s class and someone I’d known since Sam Houston days!  My biological father has since died, but my mother is still quite active.  As a matter of fact, she and I flew to Dublin on 9-11, arriving just an hour or so before the Twin Towers fell, and watched it all unfold on Irish TV.

I would love to hear from any of you - and will answer; but unfortunately, I seem to be the only one in the class without computer skills.  So you’ll have to write or call!  At any rate, I’ll see you on September 12!

50th Reunion Update - August 2008

The biographies are so much fun to read. I can hardly believe fifty years have gone by. I just can not wait to see all of you once again. Hopefully, I’ll be able to control the tears this time!

There were 43 of us at the last family reunion including our Australian “son” and his family. All five sons and four daughters and their families were able to make it. We took every cabin at the resort!  This included nineteen grandchildren, ranging from a college freshman (Kansas Jayhawker!) to one under a year. The twentieth baby is due in January.

By some miracle all of our kids made it through college: three Aggies, two Raiders, two Longhorns, one Creighton Bluejay, and one North Texas Eagle.

I spend Monday’s doing volunteer work in a thrift shop. The proceeds made from selling second hand goods at a low cost are used to help a pregnancy crisis center and the local folks. In addition to helping people I get to organize (me?), decorate and practice speaking Spanish. I really enjoy this work!

Joe retired several years ago and now does a little consulting from time to time and is now trying to learn how to run a ranch.
Though most of my life has obviously been centered on our large family, in the last few years I’ve gotten more into quilting, decorating and landscaping with Texas native plants. My greatest love is singing in the church choir.

Unexpectedly I lost my sister Sara (Gordon) Morton at the end of May 2007, so I am very much blessed to have my biological siblings: Gale (Howard) Stocking (would have been in PHS class of ‘59), Jan and brother Frank. We continue to correspond regularly.  Mom (Dorothy Howard) has now celebrated her 92nd birthday. She’s doing very well both physically and mentally.

I would love to hear from any of you - and will answer; but unfortunately, still don’t have computer skills. So you’ll have to write or call! At any rate, I’ll see you on September 12th and 13th!