On January 9th, 2012 at 1:00 A.M. Naydean was called home. After spending 29 days in the hospital since December 1st, she lost her battle with myasthenia gravis (MG) and heart failure.
Naydean came from a large rural, humble, family. Her Mother died when Naydean was 12 years old, and from that point she was raised at the Children’s Home in Greencastle, Pennsylvania. She was the first child from the Children’s Home to attend and graduate from college, which she financed by working at J. C. Penney. Upon graduation she married a Soldier on assignment to Korea. She joined the Army as well, and she served in Korea as a wheeled vehicle mechanic. In 1977, she had her first child, Alice, and continued her service to the Country in the Army Reserve. In 1980, after the birth of her second child, Nathan, she returned to Shippensburg University (PA) to earn her MA in Social Work. She also enrolled in ROTC and earned a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant.
In 1983, her family moved to Minnesota, where she taught at a community college near Duluth and obtained her PhD. In 1985 she moved to Houston and continued teaching at Houston Community College. Naydean was the founding chair of the Department of Human Services at HCC, a program that has grown to produce hundreds of licensed counselors. For ten years she served as Vice President for Program Approval for the Council on Human Services Education, the national human services professional organization.
She earned her MA in Social Work and her PhD in Psychology. She chose social work because of the positive role models in her life at the Children's Home. She benefitted from the service of others, and she always endeavored to pass that forward. As the first in her family to graduate from college, she felt a calling to support and nurture the community college student.
She served over 20-years in the US Army and Army Reserve, retiring as a Lt Colonel, and was a disabled veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. She was one of 17 logistics officers who planned and executed the successful logistics support for 400,000 soldiers in the ground operation in 1990-91.
Naydean was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood. She was most proud of her children: Alice, Nathan and Jackson. As she battled health problems since 1991, her prayer was to have grandchildren. That prayer was answered with Luxiah, age 3, and Tobias, age 6 months, who visited her before Christmas. She touched many lives in her short time with us.
Services with Military Honors were held at 2:30 P.M. on Friday, February 24th, 2012, at the Houston National Cemetery located at 10410 Veterans Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas, phone 281-447-8686.
Naydean will be missed by all who knew and loved her.
