Nina Monroe

Nina Stroud Monroe, 93, of Lorena, went to be with the Lord, our Savior, Saturday, March 13, 2010, after a brief illness. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 16, at Pecan Grove Funeral Home, 3124 Robinson Dr. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery. The family will receive visitors 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.
Nina was born March 13, 1917, in Coryell County, to Lee Alexander Brownlow and Minnie Pearl Kidd Brownlow. She was raised in Waco and graduated from Waco High School in 1935. She married Woodrow Henry Stroud, and her only child, Woodliff Harvard "Woody" Stroud, was born. Nina would later meet and marry the love of her life, James Lawrence Monroe, July 15, 1966. They spent the majority of their married years in the Lorena area. Nina remained in the Lorena community after her husband's death Oct. 15, 2003. She remained independent and continued to maintain their family home. Nina worked for George's Chef in Waco, later known as Surf & Sirloin for 30 years. She created lifelong friends and relationships while working there. Later, she acquired vocational training in the clerical field and worked for the Waco Independent School District in the transportation office and for the Retail Grocer's Association. Nina worked well into her nineties with Sam's Club in Bellmead. She performed food demonstrations and was proud to be called a 'DEMO' girl. She was an energetic go-getter. She loved working and interacting with her co-workers and the public. She would often mention, "It keeps me going." Her love of working was no comparison to the love of her family. Her husband, son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were very much a center of her life. She introduced her grandchildren to fishing and swimming. She thought it very important to "Keep Moving." Nina loved to travel with her family. She would often travel with her son, Woody, and daughter-in-law, Sandy, to such places as New Braunsfel and Corpus Christi. She would also travel to Arkansas to see her granddaughter and great grandchildren. It was no surprise that with girlfriends, she would grab a tour bus to an impromptu destination, whether to tromp a simple blue-bonnet patch or to see other exciting places. San Antonio had become her newest travel location. She would visit her youngest grandchild and her two newest great-grandchildren. Nina's grandchildren and great-grandchildren will remember their Granny's love of swimming, fishing, the smell of Baby Magic lotion, outings to the YWCA, and simple weekend routines to the laundry-mat and the H.E.B. Her friends will remember her joyous smile, infectious personality, and the secrets that only lifelong friends can share. Nina loved the Lord and attended Central United Methodist Church in Waco.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; and three sisters, Alice Mae Mills, Alma McKee, Mary Lou Reynolds.
She leaves to cherish her memory her son, Woody Stroud and wife, Sandy, of Waco; granddaughters, Shelli Stroud Cross and husband, William, of El Dorado, Ark., and Kelly Macdonald and husband, John, of China Spring; grandson, Stephen Stroud and wife, Emily, of San Antonio; great-grandchildren, Morgan and Robert Cross of El Dorado, Kellsy and Kris Macdonald of China Spring, and Aidan and Dean Stroud of San Antonio; and nephew, William 'Bo' Whitlock of Corpus Christi.