All Tributes

James Harithas was a larger-than-life presence in the lives of the people who met him. Harithas was opinionated, provocative, prescient, intelligent, and eternally curious, engaged in a perpetual search for knowledge, experience, and interesting company.   To the people who knew Jim Harithas, he was a father, a husband, a friend, a mentor, a rebel, and a champion. To him, art was a series of acts of enduring devotion to what is good in humanity, a moral impetus and obligation. This...

Ralph Marshall Lewis, 88, of Houston, Texas died Thursday, March 23, 2023. Ralph was born July 28, 1934 in Sweet Water, Alabama to Frederick Marshall Lewis and Essie Kirkham Lewis and grew up in Demopolis, Alabama. He graduated in 1956 from the University of Alabama with a degree in Chemical Engineering, and joined Texaco. He served in the Air Force in England from 1957-1959 and resumed working at Texaco until his retirement in 1994. He also lived in Nederland, Texas and Weston,...

Larry Judson Gunn of Houston, Texas, passed away on March 19, 2023, surrounded by family. Larry was born on October 11, 1940, in Shreveport, Louisiana, to the late Irene Washington Gunn and Paul Louis Gunn of Shreveport, Louisiana. He met the love of his life, Ann Johnson, while in middle school in Shreveport, Louisiana. They attended Byrd High School and LSU before marrying in 1963. Larry and Ann would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on February 9, 2023; however, Ann passed...

David Michael Demshur, of Houston, Texas, passed away peacefully at home after a prolonged illness on Saturday morning, March 18, 2023. Laureen, his beloved wife, was by his side, together as they have been for 46 years traveling the world and enjoying life. Dave grew up in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania from humble beginnings, setting the stage for his passion for sports, all things Penn State and leadership in the corporate world. Dave and Laureen met as he rolled his way through a Pennsylvania...

Elaine Deese Woodard, 73, who passed away peacefully at her home in the Heights on March 13, 2023, will be joyfully remembered in a memorial service on April 21, 2023, at 1:00pm in the Westmoreland Chapel of South Main Baptist Church at 4100 Main Street in Houston. A reception will follow at the church.  Born on January 18, 1950, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the late Clare Maida and Barron Deese, Elaine grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana. After earning her B.A. degree from Louisiana...

Father Thomas Sepulveda, CSB died peacefully on March 11, 2023. He was 79 years old and had been a member of the Congregation of the Priest of St. Basil (Basilian Fathers) for 59 years.  Father Sepulveda was born in Detroit, Michigan on June 7, 1944, the son of Mauro Sepulveda and Mary Provencher. A graduate of Our Lady Gate of Heaven School and Visitation High School, he entered St. Basil’s Novitiate, Pontiac, Michigan, in 1963. He took his first vows in 1964 and then went to...

On March 10, 2023, Father Alberto Rodríguez López, OP, age 77, died at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas.  Father Alberto was born in Havana, Cuba, on December 5, 1945 the eldest of three children to Alberto Marcel Rodríguez y Sánchez and Yolanda Margarita López y Emanelli of Camagüey, Cuba.  At the age of 16, Fr. Alberto moved to the United States for studies.  In 1964 Fr. Alberto entered the novitiate of the Order of Preachers...