Memorial services celebrating the life of Bert Gann, 81, were held at 11 a.m., Saturday, January 27, 2007, at Denman Avenue Baptist Church, 1807 E. Denman Avenue, with Reverend Charles Roberts officiating. Eulogies were offered by John W. Doyal and Janis Conner Vaughn. Special music was rendered by Leonard and Molly Jo Avery, J.T. and Margie Rice, Delbert Williford, Jim Havard, Ron Meadows, John Parker, Nita Hurley, and Glenden Sanders. Private interment services were held for Bert on Monday, January 22, 2007, in the Elwyn M. Gipson Memorial Chapel in the Garden of Memories Memorial Park, Lufkin.
Berta Marie (Bert) Williams Gann, 81, was born November 21, 1925, in Chireno, Texas, to the late Thomas C. and Erma Perry Williams. She died Sunday, January 21, 2007, in a local nursing facility.
Bert grew up in the Burke community, graduated from Lufkin High School in 1942, and received her business education at Satterwhite Business College. Although she lived briefly in Utah, Washington, Mississippi, and Houston, Texas, while following her husband in business moves and during his service in WWII and the Korean conflict, her home for the majority of her life was in Lufkin, Texas. In Lufkin, Bert was active in the community as a member of KiAnns, the Lufkin Association of Realtors, Polka Dots, several local groups comprised of neighbors and friends, and Denman Avenue Baptist Church, where she was a charter member. In 1964, Bert opened Bert Gann Realty, Inc. She loved working in real estate, believing that each home she listed was a mansion to someone. Her delight was in helping young couples purchase their first home. During her career from 1960 - 1987, Bert served in various positions, including president, in the Lufkin Association of Realtors. She also was a Veterans Administration and Federal Housing Administration area broker. She helped countless people buy and sell homes, farms, land and commercial properties. In 2005, the Bert Gann Endowed Chair of Real Estate, created to provide training for local real estate agents and to advance high standards of ethics in real estate, became Angelina College's first endowed chair. For more than twenty years, Bert Gann suffered from Alzheimer's disease. During these years, she participated in several Alzheimer's research studies with the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Sunday she lost her long and courageous battle against this debilitating disease.
Bert was preceded in death by her parents and by her brother, Joe Perry Williams. She is survived by husband, Nathan Woody Gann; daughter, Benegene Kring; son, Tom H. Gann and Vicki Gann; daughter and son-in-law, Natalie and Charles Crowson; grandson and granddaughter-in-law, Nathan and Brooke Maddux Gann; granddaughter and grandson-in-law, Laura Crowson and Bill Lester; and great-granddaughter, Kate Lester.
Gipson Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
RSS Feed
