MAURY SHIVER

HOUSTON -- Maury Emma Graham Shiver, a loving wife, mother and grandmother, died Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, during her 72nd year. Memorial service: 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, in the sanctuary of Westminster Presbyterian Church, 7001 Trail Lake Drive, with the Rev. Dr. Donald R. Hogg officiating. Family and friends will gather in the church's Fellowship Hall immediately after the service. Memorials: Her family respectfully suggests that memorial contributions be given in her name to Westminster Presbyterian Church or Tarrant Literacy Association. Born June 24, 1940, in Edna, Maury was the daughter of John Richard and Emma Hilka Flemming Graham. She attended school in Vanderbilt through the eighth grade and graduated from Freer High School in 1958. After graduation, she married William F. "Bill" Shiver; they had two daughters, Tiana and Larisa. Once both daughters were in school, Maury began to commute from Post, where Bill was school superintendent, to Lubbock to attend Texas Tech University. Following almost 10 years as a full-time wife and mother and part-time student, Maury earned a B.S. in education, and was awarded the distinction of the highest ranking graduate of the Texas Tech College of Education in 1977. In Post, Maury taught second grade for four years and fifth grade for six years. After earning an M.S. in education from Texas Tech in 1985, she accepted a position as middle school librarian from 1986-'88, and thereafter assumed the role of elementary learning resource specialist until 1992. Upon Bill's retirement from the Post ISD, the school board voted to rename the learning center "The Bill and Maury Shiver Learning Center" in recognition of the couple's almost three decades of commitment to the education of the community's children. In 1992, Maury and Bill moved to McAllen, where she was librarian at Options Alternative High School from 1992-'97. After Bill's death, Maury moved to Granbury in 1997 and was librarian at Granbury Intermediate until 1999. Her career reflected her lifelong commitment to education and also helped fund college and medical school for Tiana and college and law school for Larisa. In retirement, Maury's passion for education and literacy led her to use her teaching and library skills as a volunteer with the Tarrant Literacy Association working with adult clients teaching them to read. She also recently volunteered in area schools helping young children with reading skills. Life experiences took Maury from a childhood in coastal and Rio Grande Valley oilfield camps, to married life in Central and West Texas, to retirement in Fort Worth, and finally to Houston, where she spent the last few months in the loving care of her daughter, Tiana. She made lifelong friendships all along the way. While in Fort Worth, Maury was active on the Session as a ruling elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church from 2009-'11. A loving wife and mother, a passionate educator and Nana, we will remember her always, but especially when enjoying a perfectly brewed glass of iced tea, when reading to a child, when helping friends, family and neighbors in need, and when supporting our churches. She was preceded in death by her parents and husband. Survivors: In addition to her daughters and their husbands, Tiana and Michael Bonderer of Houston and Larisa and David Keltner of Fort Worth; grandchildren, William Franklin Michael "Will" Bonderer of Houston and Elena Christine and John David "Jack" Keltner of Fort Worth; brother and sister-in-law, John R. and Joan Graham of McAllen; and nieces, Kathy Johnson of Tyler, Cindy Harty of Florida, Leslie Jones of Austin and Carol Fagin of Alabama. Robertson Mueller Harper Funerals & Cremations 1500 Eighth Ave., 817-924-4233 To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of MAURY SHIVER please visit our Sympathy Store.