Maxine Largin

Maude Maxine Jones was born March 30, 1924 to Robert Joseph "Joe" Jones and Lucile Adeline Robinson in Houston, Texas. Maxine had an older sister, Frances Elizabeth. Maxine, nicknamed "Mackey," graduated in 1942 from Wichita Falls High School, where she was a cheerleader. She met Oscar Largin, in 1940. They married in 1944 and after he returned from military service were active members of First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, Texas.
They moved their family to Denver, Colorado in 1959 and helped found Applewood Baptist Church. In 1964, they moved to Fremont, California. While living there, Maxine served as state Women's Missionary Union president.
In 1970, Maxine, Oscar and their youngest daughter, Twyla, moved to Richardson, Texas and became active members of First Baptist Church Richardson, where Maxine was church receptionist for 32 years. In retirement she enjoyed activities with her family and a wide circle of friends. She and Oscar were married for 69 years. After his death in 2014, Maxine started painting lessons, which she truly enjoyed. She breathed her last breath April 1, 2016 surrounded by her daughters.
Maxine had an older sister, Frances Elizabeth. She is survived by daughters Linda Carroll, Valerie Largin and Twyla Cormak (Dave); grandchildren: Scott Carroll (Carol), Katelyn Cormak and Regan Cormak; great-granddaughter, Daniela Carroll, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. A graveside service for Maxine and Oscar will be held Friday, April 22, 2016 at 2:30 p.m. at Dallas Ft Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy, Dallas, Texas. A memorial service to honor and celebrate Maxine's life will be held Saturday, April 23, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Richardson, 1001 N Central Expy, Richardson, TX 75080.

Hello I'm Valerie Largin. Maxine's middle daughter. Thank you so very much for coming today to honor the memory of my mother, Maxine Largin. She has left a lasting legacy as a wife, a mother, a friend, a hard worker and a caring Christian.
Mom, like others of her generation, went from a nice home and stability in the 1920's to harder times during the Depression. Even at the young age of 6 she showed ingenuity. She was a bit of a tomboy, and found that if she stood on her head or did a tumbling trick, it amused the rough guys her father had finally found work with, and they would give her some coins, which she would give to her Mom to spend on groceries. After her Dad died when she was 7, she, her mom and her sister, rotated stays with relatives, trying not to wear out their welcome. Her mom found work as a seamstress doing alterations and tailoring, and they eventually settled in their own place in Fort Worth, and later Wichita Falls.
Mom was a bright, active, popular, and fun-loving teen. She was also very independent and didn't want to be tied down. Rather than encourage a steady beau, she might have two or three dates on the same day - roller skating with one, a movie with another, then dancing with a group of friends. She longed to get out on her own and hoped to go to college at Vassar. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to afford college, so, after she graduated in 1942, she went to work at the tele phone company.
Maxine had dated Oscar off and on since they met in 1940. He was crazy about her and eventually bought a ring and proposed. She accepted, but they had a tiff one day. She gave the ring back and he returned it to the jeweler. Later on he tried again, she accepted, then another tiff followed. This went on and the jeweler started calling it the "Indian ring," because of all the giving back and forth. Finally, Oscar asked her again, if she would marry him on an upcoming Friday when he could get military leave. She told him she had a date that day, but guessed she could break it to marry him. She even invited the date to the wedding. He came to be sure she wasn't just giving him the brush off.
Oscar taught Maxine how to cook and to drive. It was during one of those lessons he learned just what a spunky girl he had married. His redhead's temper getting the best of him, he raised his voice in impatience as he directed her driving. As the car continued forward, he grew wide eyed as Maxine removed her hands from the wheel, crossed her arms over her chest, turned to him and said, "Don't you talk to me like that." The teacher learned a valuable lesson that day.
Mom was a good learner and over the years she honed her cooking skills, collecting cookbooks and recipes and exchanging especially tasty ones with aunts and friends. She hosted many get-togethers including parties, dinners, and game nights for her children, her Sunday school class, and numerous new and long-time friends. Mom loved planning and cooking meals for special occasions that would appeal to each family member, however picky the eater.
Family and friends enjoyed her tasty meals, and even more so, the opportunity to linger afterward sharing conversation and laughter - sometimes till we cried. Mom loved that time, refilling drinks and serving dessert to stretch it out. Those times continue to be some of the most cherished memories for us all.
Shared times with family and friends often included games, like Trivial Pursuit, Uno, Yahtzee, Dominoes and favorite card games like Liverpool, Spite and Malice, or Hand and Foot. Maxine was a good strategist, enjoying team play, and relishing their many evenings playing with Johnny and Dorothy Mackey, Jim and Dimple Deprato, or Sunday school classmates. Maxine looked forward to hosting game nights and class parties. She knew the secret of true hospitality and went out of her way to make people feel welcome in her home.
Maxine was an excellent homemaker. As the wife of a salesman, who was transferred several times, she had the opportunity to establish a number of homes, making each warm and welcoming, and keeping them clean and neat.
Mom also tried to take good care of herself and extend that care to her family. She went through a period when she exercised with Jack La Lane regularly and encouraged us to join in. She even attended seniors' exercise classes at the church into her 80's. I enjoyed coming along whenever I came to visit. Over the years, she tried many Adele Davis and Atkins Diet recipes on us hoping we would enjoy what was good for us.
Both of my parents were very careful about their appearance, impressing on us the importance of hygiene and dressing appropriately for every occasion. From a young age, Maxine always tried to look her best. When she moved to San Remo, the aides seemed a bit confused when we would bring and send her nice clothes and take her shopping for cute shoes. I explained to them that my mother had always taken great pride in her appearance and that had not changed. Dressing nicely, and having her hair and nails done made her feel good about herself and excited about her day. They started to see her through new eyes and help her.
Mom loved to read. She read many types of books; subscribed to and read many magazines; savored the Sunday paper, and, up until just a few years ago, read several novels a month. She also liked to research how to do things. She passed her love of reading on to her children, encouraging each of us to be curious and creative. When we were young, she took us to the library and also bought workbooks at the store. One of our favorite activities became playing school and doing all those exercises. She also gave us lessons in the arts - dancing for Linda and Twyla, drawing for me and piano for all.
Two years ago, Maxine took up painting lessons herself. She was always very creative and not easily daunted, even once painting her kitchen tangerine. She liked to research how to do things. When she wanted to recover a chair, she read up on it and did it herself. Later in life, she and Oscar studied up and became quite the wallpapering team, transforming several rooms in their home. She had a green thumb and enjoyed finding just the right plants that would thrive and bloom in her garden, on her window sill, or throughout her home. She loved colorful flowers, and I would often send her a colorful potted Cyclamen for her birthday or Mother's Day. She would nurture them and I would delight to see them growing and blooming in her kitchen window for years to come.
Maxine was also a talented seamstress, even passing on talents she learned from her mother to Linda and me. She spent many hours making clothes and gift items, especially for her grandchildren.
Mom taught us a lot about gift giving. She would start planning far ahead of occasions to find, or make, just the right gifts that she hoped would delight or well serve the recipient. If she came across something she thought was a great gift for, say for a newly married couple, she would buy it in preparation for the many weddings she was invited to over the years, anticipating the pleasure it would bring. She also taught us about appreciating gifts we received, the fine art of the thank you note, and the importance of sending one in a timely fashion. We learned that sharing how much we enjoyed a gift brought great joy to the giver.
Many of you know she sold Avon. She enjoyed it because it helped her get items she needed, but, more so, it gave her the opportunity to afford, and select, gifts for her family and friends. She would look in the catalogs and mark the items she wanted to get to give as gifts. She was always on the lookout for stocking stuffers, which everyone received in our family, not just the children. Maybe it was because they experienced the Depression and lost their fathers while they were young, but my parents went nuts over Christmas. They loved being surrounded by family and watching each person open their gifts.
Maxine's love and selflessness were a common thread in her life. Off and on for many years during her adulthood she included her mother in her household, and even went to feed her at mealtimes when she was confined to a rehab facility after some strokes late in life. Over the years we befriended and wove into our family neighbors, summer missionaries, new church staff, and young families, many of whom still cherish memories of my Mom's caring, kindness and hospitality.
In Fremont, our pastor's daughter was in a disabling accident. For many months, Maxine participated in, and helped schedule volunteers for, patterning exercise sessions in hopes it would improve her functioning. When we lived in Richardson, she would go clean house for Dad's Aunt Bess in Dallas, buying groceries, running her errands, taking her to appointments - all while dodging Bess's aggressive dog, Kim, who ruled the roost. She would also bring home Bess's laundry and return it clean and pressed the following week.
Her caring extended to our family pets, including a Dalmatian who was allergic to grass and needed purple medicine applied regularly to her belly, and later a poodle and her two litters of puppies. After her girls were grown she inherited a cat named Misty from Twyla. While Misty had her aggressive moments, Mom looked forward to being with her and loved and doted on her the rest of her days.
Mom loved the Lord and she and Dad were very involved in church, including leading juniors in Wichita Falls, helping start and build a church in Denver, serving as California state president of Women's Missionary Union, and teaching in Vacation Bible School for many years - which I personally loved! We learned the love of God and of service from their example.
During her 32-year tenure as a secretary and receptionist at First Baptist Church of Richardson, she truly loved helping and serving members and visitors alike, and they enjoyed and benefitted from her kindness, patience, guidance and problem solving skills.
And Mom was a problem solver. With a husband who traveled during the week, she had to learn creative ways to resolve problems and make things run smoothly for her children and her household.
I was asked once to think about a time when I really loved my mother. I told the following story: At age 7, I went to a friend's after school wearing a brand new pair of pants. She took me up the road to see a pony and asked me to hold his head while she jumped on. She accidently kicked his belly and he bit me on my side. We ran back to the fence and I tore the knee of my pants. I was distraught about ruining a truly beautiful pair of pants, but I was quite fearful of getting a spanking - something they did, and well, in the 50's.
Mom was on the phone behind a kitchen peninsula and could only see me from the waist up when I arrived home sobbing hysterically. I made her promise not to spank me before I would tell her about my wound and torn pants. She folded me in her arms to comfort me and look at my knee. She told me it would be all right and she could turn them into Bermuda shorts, which she did. I truly loved my mother at that moment.
She was still making sure I was all right years later. On her recent 92nd birthday, we had some time alone. I sat by her bed holding her hand and talking to her. Suddenly, she sat up very straight, looked me in the eye very seriously and said "I want to be sure you're going to be all right."
I told her I was sad that she was hurting, but I was OK.
She looked me in the eye again and said, "I want to be sure you're going to be all right."
I looked into her eyes knowingly and told her, "I will be all right, Mom."
She died two days later, surrounded by her daughters.

I've told my friends to let me cry.
It doesn't mean I don't have confidence in God's promise.
The tears are for me, because I miss her so.
I know you miss her, too.