Mrs. Dorothy Fuqua

Dorothy Pfeffer Fuqua “DeeDoe” passed away peacefully on August 28, 2014. She was born October 19, 1933, to Arthur and Mary Pfeffer in Bellville, Texas. She was the second of six children and always argued that she was her daddy’s favorite. In 1949, a fiercely determined young woman spied Carlton Fuqua while on a shopping trip to Navasota and vowed she would marry him. On April 15, 1950, she did. She then determined to be the best mother she could be to Carlton, Jr., Debbie, and Gary. She was. Next, she endeavored to open her own day care in 1965,and spent the next thirty years taking care of her” babies.” Over 500 of Navasota’s finest children have grown up telling their own stories of eating spinach and green peas, sitting in the naughty place, and getting spanked with the spanking stick. The memories created at Fuqua’s or DeeDoe’s and the friendships forged remain and serve as a part of her legacy.
In 1994, a debilitating stroke ended her career and although doctors cautioned that she would never recover, the even more determined DeeDoe did recover and lived independently in her little cottage filled with antiques and her paintings of the Smokey Mountains until last year. DeeDoe was a member of the First Baptist Church, the Navasota Art League, and a lifetime member of the Friends of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Next to family and her “babies”, her greatest passion was the Smokies. She made about forty trips to the Park and had close friends from all over America. Over 500 of her paintings of the old homes, barns, trees, mountains, Little Pigeon River, and Cades Cove hang in the homes of many of those friends and family. Those memories and those paintings are also part of her legacy.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Peggy Raska, husband, Carlton Fuqua, Sr., and daughter-in-law Dorothy Ann Zuma Fuqua. DeeDoe is survived by her sweet little sister, Wanda Mae Henske, brother and sister-in-law, Sammy and Emily Pfeffer, Joyce Burke, and Calvin Ray Pfeffer.
Living with the legacy of a wonderful and determined mother and grandmother are her children: Carlton and Rachael Fuqua of Magnolia and their family: Abby, Colin, Russell, Aubrey, Bethany, Asher, Lily, Andrew, Austen and Christina; Debbie Fuqua Hancock of Navasota and her family: Judson, Corina, Camp, Sarah and Sawyer; and Gary and Debbie Fuqua of Navasota and their family: Jenny, Brad, Evelyn, John, Truman, Samuel, G.W., Amy, Elena, Adele, Faith, Felix, Cyrus and Jesse. DeeDoe, having a preference for boys, also chose to include as her sons Rusty Fabian, George Korpita, and Brad Gay, all of Navasota. She was Aunt Dorothy to many and had a special love for Bradley Henske and Kelly Henske.
On Saturday, August 30, 2014, a brief graveside service will be held at the Fuqua Family Cemetery at Erwin on Piedmont Road at 3:00 p.m., followed by a gathering of family and friends at the Fuqua’s Red Barn located at 2560 FM 3090, Navasota, Texas. In lieu of flowers to the family, please enjoy the sunset, an early morning sunrise, smile when you see a Cardinal, drink a cup of coffee, and maybe even plan a trip to the Great Smokey Mountains. Most importantly determine to love your family unconditionally and that will be the tribute to the legacy of DeeDoe Fuqua.