Obituary of Gwendolyn Hester

Gwen’s dash began on May 14, 1946 when she was born to the parents of David Allan and Ollie Regina Calhoun Hester. Gwen was born with a curious spirit and that spirit continued throughout her life. Her early childhood was spent in the Detroit Public Schools attending Corville Elementary and Cleveland Junior High School. At the age of 14, Gwen’s family moved to Gary, Indiana where she completed high school and was a proud Class of 1964 graduate of Theodore H. Roosevelt High School (affectionately known as The VELT).

“Gwennie Gwen” as she was fondly called, attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, her freshman year, however, she became homesick and transferred to Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, fulfilling her fond desire to return to her birthplace.  There, Gwen received her Bachelor of Science (B.S.), in Business Education. She went on to receive her Master of Arts (M.A.) in Business Education from Michigan State University and ultimately received her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Vocational and Applied Arts in Education from Wayne State University, under the advisement of her beloved Advisor Dr. Fred Cook. Gwen often recalled many witticisms and life observations that Dr. Cook said, including one of his favorites “There’s money to do what ‘they’ want to do!”

In December 1984, Gwen moved from the Detroit area to Dallas, Texas to join the faculty of Richland College. Little did she know that Richland would become such an integral part of her being. Gwen loved her students, thrived on teaching, and she was richly rewarded with a group of colleagues that she respected and came to love as family.

It goes without saying that Gwen loved history! In fact, History was her minor for all three of her degrees. She channeled her love of history in many ways – through her voracious love of historical biographies, and of course her four decades of researching our family history. Gwen’s pursuit of family history led her on many road trips, to court houses and cemeteries, along the back roads of Alabama, Mississippi, North & South Carolina, and even to the National Archives in Washington, DC. With her tenacity, Gwen located records to substantiate oral histories, found-photos, and the many anecdotal stories that had been passed down from ancestors through the generations. 

Gwen’s extensive genealogical research resulted in the publication of several books, Sumter County Alabama Wills: 1828-1872; Mortality Schedules: 1850-1880; 1850 Slave Schedule-Sumter County, Alabama. 1855 Census-Sumter County, Alabama; and Freedmen and Colored Marriage Records, 1865-1890: Sumter County, Alabama.  However, her most cherished works were the Commemorative Family reunion books she created for her family. In addition, she worked tirelessly to help coordinate several Calhoun family reunions where she presented her work to the family and gifted family members with commemorative family albums. 

Gwen was inspired by and caught the “bug” for genealogy after watching the ABC mini-series ROOTS, which told the historical tale of author Alex Haley’s family saga from slavery to freedom. Gwen had always been curious and inquisitive about family history, always asking her mother about family relationships, and listening intently when family elders shared stories from ancestors. Her interest was further piqued by stories that Cousin Giles shared with her from when he was a child—you see he was already nearing 100 at that time and was able to recall stories as far back as the 1880s. Gwen meticulously recorded historical information in notebooks, on her computers, and through photographs. If family members or friends had photos, she would take a photo of the photo—which also allowed her to delve more deeply into her second love—photography.

Gwen became a true photography buff, searching out high-end equipment that would allow her to record the historical information she was seeking, with accuracy and quality. Her research also led to the purchase of several computers along the away, and she often said she had worn out a few cars and a lot of tires on her road trips. She would often call her Mom, Renae or other family members to proclaim, “I found some more relatives!” One of her most intriguing discoveries was finding out that Mama Etta—her mother’s mother—had a younger sibling (unbeknownst to the rest of the family) who was alive, some 30+ years after Mama Etta’s death. Here was yet another family connection!

Gwen’s efforts were selfless—she simply wanted family members to know each other, and know who, and where, they came from! Gwen touched so many people. She single-handedly united generations of our ancestors and linked us as a family into the future. Family and friends, young and old, love Gwen…some of the younger cousins even call her a multi-generational ROCK STAR!

In June 1995, Gwen began an unrelenting battle that would last the rest of her life—the battle to live in spite of cancer. She never really had much of a relief from the fight, such as a remission. Most of the time she went from treatment to treatment, to new occurrences, and more treatment. But every time that cancer threw something at her, she suited up and went to battle, determined to overcome it. With dedication, she kept teaching (she LOVED her students!), traveling, and searching for family connections. Most would wear down and give up long before Gwen acquiesced. She forged ahead until the final 48 hours of her life!

Gwen left this earthly life at 9:20 p.m. on Thursday November 14, 2019. She was surrounded by her sister Renae and family members who were holding, hugging and kissing her goodbye with love. Many loved ones—her mom, aunts, uncles, and cousins, including ancestors she had only met in record books were waiting to welcome her to her Heavenly home.

She leaves to cherish her magnificent life of accomplishment, sister Etta Renae Brantley, a multitude of cousins, including the Gorman and Fleming families, the Howell and Brooks families, the Brown and Bennett families, the Butler and Johnson families, the Williams and Jones families, the Beckwith families, half-sisters Regina Hester Glimp, Joyce Hester Lindsey, Cynthia Hester, a hoist of Hester nieces and nephews and the entire connection of Calhoun and Allied Families relatives.

Gwen was blessed to have a group of amazing co-workers with whom she not only shared a love for teaching and education, but who also shared other interests with her, most notably, photography. Dee Hobson (also her birthday twin), Peter Irwin, Dwight Riley, Susan Calhoun, Angela Nino, Julie Phillips, Gloria Marshall, Sandy Groom, Martha Hogan, Dan Dao, Janet James

In addition, Gwen was under the care of a phenomenal team of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, technicians, and so many, many others at the Mary Crowley Cancer Center (Dr. Staruss, Dr. Barve, Leah, Julie, et al); at Medical City Dallas, which Gwen affectionately called i“MyMedicalCity”, Dr. Allan Shulkin, Dr. Savin, Dr. McGee, Texas Oncology Group, the Imaging Center, et al. Thank you for your knowledge, kindness and guidance throughout Gwen’s medical challenges.