Darla Dobson

Rockport, Texas

Darla Anne Dobson, age 93, of Rockport, TX passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by her 4 children, 11 grandchildren and many of her 23 great-grandchildren, on Monday, April 1, 2019.

A Celebration of her amazing life will be held at 10:30 on Saturday, June 1, 2019, at Sugar Grove Church of Christ in Sugarland, TX with Mark Howell presiding. Burial will be in the Rockport Cemetery next to her beloved husband of 68 years, William “Bill” Andrew Dobson.

Darla was born to Claude and Anne Johnston in Hobart, Oklahoma on June 4, 1925 but she had Texas roots. Her grandparents homesteaded on Church Street in Rockport, TX and two of their daughters (one being Darla’s mother) met and married “Okies” who were recruited to Rockport for the shipbuilding effort during WWI and took their brides back to Oklahoma when the war ended.

She was the middle child and described herself as painfully shy and timid, a fact that in later years was hard to believe because she had a way of making everyone she crossed paths with feel valued, included and unconditionally loved. As a child growing up during the great depression she learned ingenuity and thriftiness watching and helping her mother supplement the family income by trapping rabbits, gardening, canning, firing ceramics, and operating a beauty salon out of their home.

Darla was a proud graduate of Oklahoma University where she earned a degree in Spanish and became a lifelong OU football fan. She was an exchange student with a family in Puebla Mexico and established a bond that has inspired exchanges between our families for 3 generations.

Darla and Bill raised their four children in Houston, TX, spent 10 years in Palo Alto, California and retired to Rockport, TX in 1988. Rockport had always been a family getaway since Darla was a girl.

Darla and Bill lived a life of faith and service. It was their joy to give - of their time, their talents, their possessions and their amazing hospitality. Their faith was quiet and had legs. Darla donated her time at Castaways resale shop in Rockport for many years and eventually roped Bill in too. Her Rockport house was a gathering place for all the holidays and no amount of family and friends were too many for her. She could literally multiply the fish and loaves to go around and never break a sweat.

Darla had 11 grandchildren who all believed they were her favorite. They called her Ma. She let the cat out of the bag 3 days before she died when her first born granddaughter leaned over to kiss her and tell her that her “favorite” was there. She replied, “They’re all my favorite”. She had boundless energy and spent time with each of them as they grew, crabbing till midnight in Rockport Little Bay, hiking in Yosemite Park with at least 4 grandkids in tow, biking to the grocery with a child, sailing across Rockport bay and spending nights on the boat. She was always up for an adventure. At 88 she rode with her much younger neighbor to her hacienda south of Mexico City, much to the alarm of friends and neighbors.

At 92 she was dragging limbs off her property after Hurricane Harvey with the many friends and family that showed up to help in the cleanup. When she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer a year later, this woman who had never touched a cigarette and had her first glass of wine while living in California wine country, just kept going and just kept living. She traveled to Maine and ate lobster and saw loons, took a trip to Galveston with her youngest daughter, and at Christmas watched her great-grandchildren ice skate in Fredericksburg and then ride with all of us on a hayride to see the lights.

We thought she would set a family record for longevity. We wanted more of her and though 93 may sound like plenty of years, we were hoping for 103. We take consolation in knowing that she is in heaven dancing with Bill in the presence of Jesus. We love her and miss her and can’t wait to see her again.

Arrangements entrusted to:

Charlie Marshall Funeral Homes and Crematory

2003 W. Wheeler Ave.

Aransas Pass, Texas 78336

361-758-3221