BELVA
Belva Jean Baker was born August 16, 1941, in Madisonville’s Heath Clinic on North Madison. She grew up a few miles south of Madisonville, beside Highway 75, on property owned by her father’s family.
Donald Lee Baker (1917-2003) and Mae Opal Thompson Baker (1918-2010) were her parents. She was their second-born, with siblings Margaret, Donald Wayne, Eunice, Kay, Terry, Tommy Joe, Mike, and Debbie.
Belva attended Madisonville schools from start to finish, graduating in 1959 from the old high school that stood near our current post office. According to that year’s school yearbook, she was active in Future Homemakers of America, Youth for Christ, and volleyball, and she was listed as a as a member of her class’s Who’s Who. Fellow graduates still here include Charles Bates, Timothy Burr, Molly Watson Standley, Voyce Cole Park, and Ann Walton Richie.
Soon after high school, Belva became a licensed beautician here in Madisonville. Her first boss was Mr.
Young, quite popular though I’ve found no one who recalls his first name. Later she worked with Lera Harris, Ruth Ratliff, and Bruce Dean. When Ruth sold her shop just off The Square on North Madison, Belva purchased it and renamed it The Hair Palace. She had a host of dedicated customers in her fifty-three years in business. One customer, Mary Katherine Walker, changed Belva’s life long ago. Mary Katherine’s father, W.V. Walker, Sr., then owned Walker’s Pharmacy, and her brother, Vann Junior, had just returned from the Navy. One day, Belva cut and styled preteen Mary Katherine’s hair, after which Mary Katherine hurried to the pharmacy and told Vann Jr., “The lady that did my hair sure was nice and VERY pretty!” Vann replied, “Please go back and find out her name and any other information you can!”
Mary Katherine got facts, Vann asked Belva out, and they married on August 5, 1961, in First Baptist Church, her lifelong church.
Like many families, Belva’s enjoys food. Vann was quite a cook, and I’m sure others like me recall the sight of him entering the beauty shop with a homemade lunch for his beloved wife. Belva also enjoyed preparing food for loved ones. Mike Baker, one of her brothers, recently told me that she often prepared and shared his favorite dessert. It was easy! “Buy a store-bought angel food cake or 2, and slice some bananas and strawberries, and get Cool Whip and pecans. In a long casserole, make the first layer with torn pieces of the cake, then add layers of sliced bananas and sliced strawberries, and then Cool Whip. Start over and layer each again.
Decorate the top with strawberries and pecans and enjoy!”
This past week, I asked family members for facts about her. Each told something, including “She loved the color green. She enjoyed trying new things. She had a shoe fetish and would buy 3 or 4 pairs at once. She loved clothes and gorgeous jewelry! She was a real Christian, 7 days a week!” They all agreed on that last!
Life isn’t always kind and that was true in Belva’s later years. Belva’s mind was already starting to fail when Vann died in 2014, and she grew increasingly confused and despondent. She resided at Madisonville Nursing Home until a tornado damaged it on March 22, 2022, forcing her to be moved to a facility in Navasota. We can’t hold that move against her. She died July 10. The thought of Heaven is sweeter now for those that loved her!
Belva’s survivors include sons Sean Walker of Willis and Shane Walker of Dallas, grandson Cham Walker of Huntsville, and a host of other family members and friends who mourn her passing. Plus, me. Over forty years ago, I was a member of Belva’s family, and she never behaved as if that changed.
This essay appears on behalf of Madison County Museum and Madison County Historical Commission. At 201 N. Madison, the Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10-2. We hope you will write something for Volume 3 of local history. Snail-mail it to MCHC, 101 N. Commerce, #64, Madisonville, TX 77864, or email it to stories@madisonchc.com
LAURA ANN CANNON
