Pearl Hugo

Pearl Bettie Gaskamp was born January 29, 1923 in Independence, Texas to parents, Louis Henry and Louise Finke Gaskamp. She was baptized April 8, 1923 at St. Matthew Lutheran Church of Sandy Hill, and was confirmed on May 9, 1937 at St. John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill. She grew up with 5 brothers and 2 sisters, working the cotton fields during harvest time. At the age of 20, Pearl attended the Hodge Beauty College in Houston, graduating in 1944. She returned to Brenham and worked at the Blue Bird Beauty Parlor. During this time, she resided at her Aunt Mary Finke''s boarding house. She walked back and forth to work every, even walking home for lunch. On days when it rained too hard, Aunt Mary would drive her to work. During World War II, Pearl began writing to a young soldier, the cousin of her friend, Helen Bockhorn Nordt. When he returned from Burma, Pearl and this soldier, Melvin Hugo, began dating. The first time they saw a movie at the Simon Theatre, it was a western. Melvin was under the seat at the first gunshot. That didn''t scare her off! They were married June 14, 1947 at St. John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill. Their married life in Brenham was centered around their home on S. Austin Street. It was always a busy place, with several of Pearl''s brothers, one of Melvin''s brothers, and friends renting the extra bedroom. Melvin went to barber college, and then graduated from Blinn College on the GI bill. Their family expanded in September 1950 with the birth of Janice. In 1954, they moved to Bellville, when Melvin had the opportunity to get his own barbershop. In February 1955, a premature baby, James, died after only one day. In February 1957, Lloyd was born. Two years later in February 1959, David was born. Over the years, Pearl worked with several beauticians in Bellville, including Doris Lynn, Lillie Melcher, Lucille Bohne, and Patsy Marek. She also fixed hair at the nursing home across from the golf course. She sold Merle Norman cosmetics from home before you were required to have a retail store. High school girls would come over to learn about skin care and receive a facial. The house would be full of laughter until everyone''s "miracol" facial would set so tight that you couldn''t talk or laugh without it cracking! The laughter would start again after everyone washed their faces, and it was time to try on powders, rouges, and lipsticks. Pearl never missed a Little League game when Lloyd or David was playing. Broncial problems sometimes didn''t allow her to sit out in the night air, so she would park right outside the first base line fence. Watching from the driver''s seat, you knew when she was excited about a play—the horn would be honking like crazy! When the World Series was on TV, she always tried to watch, cheering for the underdogs-she never rooted for the New York Yankees-claimed that they had enough titles and somebody else needed the chance to win. Texas A&M, Dallas Cowboys, and Houston Astros were her favorite sports teams-she never got to go to a game but watched every game possible from her rocker, and in later years, from her wheelchair. When she was recovering from one of her surgeries, the thing that cheered her up the most was watching a taped game of the Cowboys. Being a loving mom came easy to her-becoming a granny was even more fun! She never said no to her grandchildren staying with her, whether it was overnight or just for a few hours. She made sure everyone was awake in the morning by saying, "splash some cold water on your face". Then you got a glass of orange juice, and when that was finished, she served malt-o-meal, made with half & half and powdered sugar, and a glass of milk to drink. Every time it was the same breakfast-a granny ritual! She taught them to sew-nothing fancy-straight stitches, by hand and machine. For her birthday one year she received an apron from Keith, Lacie, and Josh. It had their handprints in paint, and the phrase " Granny, if you ever need a hand, we''ll help if we can". It meant so much to her, that she hung it on the wall of her home, and then her room at Kruse Village. Besides her three biological grandkids, she inherited two more grandsons, Buckshot and Mac Wied. Buckshot and his wife, Adrienne, blessed her with two great-grandchildren, Ashlynn Rae and Bo Braden. She enjoyed reading to them and watching them play with the same toys that her grandchildren had played with at the house. She won''t be here when Mac and Rachel''s baby is born-we will just have to share memories with that little one! Her passionate hobby was gardening-not flowers, but vegetables. Because of her back problems, she couldn''t garden at ground level, so her brother Louis built her 8 raised- bed boxes from landscape timbers. She enjoyed gardening this way for over 20 years, growing enough produce to feed our family, and share with friends and neighbors. The only rule was that she got the first meal of baby green beans. It was even better if red potatoes were ready to "snitch" at the same time. Canning cucumbers for garlic dill pickles became an annual project- a lot of work, but everyone enjoyed the results. She was an excellent cook-often there was an extra kid or two at the dinner table-our friends knew that she would cook more than enough. She made the best smothered steak and gravy, usually served with homemade bread. Her chocolate chip cookies were fantastic-definitely a labor of love. One year a jar of them brought $350.00 at the fire department auction- she was amazed that anyone would spend that kind of money on her cookies. She also made a creamy fudge-always at Christmas, and sometimes for birthdays-you had to stir it until it was "shiny", and then put it in a pie plate and refrigerate. She never seemed to measure any ingredients-just a pinch or dash of this & that- but we did get everything measured out and written down when a church cookbook was being printed. Those recipes are full of love, and bring back so many memories of meals together as a family! Pearl always had a dog or two at the house-from childhood until her 70''s. Even at Kruse Village, she looked forward to the weekly visit of the pet therapy dog. She also loved horses--riding gave her great pleasure as a girl-in later years, she said that if her health was better, she would love to have a horse. Although she was raised Lutheran, Pearl attended the Independence Baptist Church sometimes-she loved the old Baptist songs. She joined the All Around Cowboy Church in Sealy in 2002, along with son Lloyd. She loved going to services there, and took notes every Sunday on the message that Pastor Sonny would give. Like most churches, potluck lunches are popular, and she would take a giant bowl of her special macaroni and cheese, plus brownies or chocolate chip cookies. She never brought home anything but empty dishes! Our Heavenly Father released Pearl from her earthly dwelling on Friday, August 26, 2011, and welcomed a very special soul into Heaven. She is survived by son Lloyd Hugo of Bellville, daughter Janice Wied and husband George of Bellville, daughter-in-law Denise Hugo of Bellville, grandchildren: Keith Hugo and girlfriend Mary Steckelberg of Austin, Lacie Hugo and fiance Lucas Luetge of Houston, Joshua Hugo of Bellville, Buckshot Wied and wife, Adrienne of Bellville, and Mac Wied and wife, Rachel, of N.W. Raub, North Dakota, great-grandchildren: Ashlynn Rae Wied and Bo Braden Wied of Bellville, and baby Wied "on the way" of North Dakota. Sister and brother-in-law, Betty and Roland Lueckemeyer of Houston, brother and sister-in-law Louis and Lorette Gaskamp of Houston, sisters-in-law: Rosalee Gaskamp of Hallettsville, Miriam Gaskamp of Brenham, and Willie Mae Hugo of Conroe, numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins, and friends. She also leaves behind her extended church family and her friends at Kruse Village. Pearl was preceded in death by her husband Melvin, infant son James, and son David, her parents Louis and Louise Gaskamp, sister Verda Gaskamp, brothers: Reuben, Leroy, Garrett, and Perry Gaskamp, sister-in-law Alice Hugo, and brothers-in-law Clifford Hugo and Garrett Hugo. Visitation was Wednesday, August 31st from 6-8 pm at Memorial Oaks Chapel in Brenham. Funeral service was Thursday, September 1st at 10 am at Memorial Oaks Chapel-Brenham. Interment was at Prairie Lea Cemetery in Brenham. Pallbearers were friends: Bill Bohne, Juan Gomez, Dwayne Haevischer, Sonny Kasparek, Rex Thumann, Cameron Slater, Dustin Slater. Honorary pallbearers were her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Pearl''s family wishes to express gratefulness to the staff of First Texas Home Health of Sealy for their care while mom was still living at home, Kruse Village for 2 years of care and love. The "angels" of Hospice Brazos Valley brought more smiles and "face pats" out of mom with their love and caring visits the last three months. Thank you all for your concern, care, and love. Memorials may be made to Hospice Brazos Valley at 302 E. Blue Bell Rd., Brenham, Texas 77833. Funeral arrangements for Pearl Bettie Hugo are entrusted to Memorial Oaks Chapel, 1306 West Main, Brenham. Visit www.memorialoakschapel.com for more information.