November 16th, 1999
At 6:51 AM on Sunday, the 14th of November of the year 1999, Royaldean Reeder Wykes passed from this life. A good friend and neighbor had spent the night with her, singing hymns and praying with her. Noticing that Royaldean's breathing was becoming labored, her friend began to sing the well-loved hymn, "Just as I Am." As her friend came to the line, "And that thou biddest me come to Thee, Oh Lamb of God I come....." Royaldean took her last breath. And so, she has gone home. And those of us who love her, begin our adjustment to life without her physical presence.
This website is dedicated to her memory. I begin the project tonight with a memoir of her wedding day, found as we went through personal items at her home in Georgetown, Texas. We also found in the back of her closet a box documenting family history back to the year 1831. Over the next few months, these web pages will reveal to all who are interested the content of those documents. Carefully copied diaries and letters will be linked to the names of a detailed family tree.
If you share in this family history, I invite you to stop back often to share in the unveiling of these historical gems. If you are simply a history buff, you also are welcome.
Mary Kathryn Beglau Wykes.... wife of Thomas Roy Wykes.... youngest son of Royaldean Reeder Wykes and Murray Lee Wykes
Eventually, this initial page will be a family tree. Names will be linked to pages containing letters and diaries written to, or by, various individuals. For now, I will put up a list, as documents are placed into the website. By clicking on the links below, you can view them. Also, by clicking on small pictures, you can view a larger version. I will be using the spelling and the punctuation found in the original documents, because I think this is a part of their flavor. And, in an attempt to transmit the physical beauty of the documents, I will scan in small excerpts of the handwriting of each individual. Some of the penmanship is exquisite.
1. Wedding memoir of Royaldean Reeder Wykes
2. Diary of Vivian Bobo Wykes: She wrote many, though only a few have been preserved. This one is of her courting days. She went back and edited it when she was 60.