Harris County Obituaries

June 6, 2007, 11:04PM
Sister Brett's heart exceeded stature
By CYNTHIA LEONOR GARZA
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Sister Carmelita Brett was an imposing presence — standing 6 feet 2 inches, with a booming voice that made both novice nuns and her superiors shrink a little in her presence.  But Brett's stature was exceeded by her outsized heart, said family and fellow sisters Wednesday as they remembered the woman who dedicated more than seven decades of her life to caring for others.  Sister Brett died Monday after several years battling cancer at the convent retirement home in Houston where she lived. She was 90.

A fellow sister noted at Brett's wake Wednesday that although Carmelita means little Carmel, there was nothing small about her. She was imposing, "but not a bad imposing," said her nephew, Gerry McGahan. "She liked to be depended on."

Brett was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, as the third child in a family of 11. Sister Finola Quinn, 89, remembered the group of 19 Irish girls — which included Brett and herself — who accepted the invitation to join the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Houston.  "We were children," said Sister Quinn, who was 16 at the time. They had no idea what awaited them as the group set sail across the Atlantic Ocean on Nov. 12, 1933.  "We just heard that the cowboys were going to be in Houston and did we want to join," Sister Quinn said. Once in the United States, they took a train from New York to Texas.  "What amazed all of us was the vegetation because we were from the green fields," she said.  Texas looked dry and burned, Sister Quinn said.

Four years after arriving at the Houston convent, Sister Brett professed her vows. She graduated from nursing school several years later, and was assigned to hospitals across the country, including Temple; Beaumont; Dallas; Long Beach, Calif.; Lake Charles; and Shreveport, La. At the request of her superior, she continued her studies and eventually earned a bachelor's degree in administration at San Antonio's Our Lady of the Lake and a master's in business administration from Trinity University.

Colleagues who worked with her knew Brett as a kidder always up for playing a joke. She also liked driving cars with big engines, and she was known for her heavy foot. 
At a wake Wednesday afternoon at the Immaculate Conception Chapel — on the East Houston convent campus — Marva Duncan, a nurse's aide who cared for Brett, sang Amazing Grace a capella. It was the fulfillment of a request Brett asked of her in her final weeks.  When the echo from her song ended, she said simply: "Take your rest, Sister Carmelita. We love you. But God loves you best." 

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[submitted by Barbara Ziegenmeyer]

Dallas Morning News 1900-09-27
Houston Texas (Harris county)
Sept 24
This evening a telegram was received here from New York announcing the death of William M. Rice of that city, but formerly a Texas and one of the oldest Houstonians. He was perhaps 85 years of age at the time of his death and up to the moment of his last illness was in possession of the clearest mental power. It is stated that he died at 3 o'clock this afternoon. Only a few days ago he was in excellent health. He came to Houston from New York shortly after the battle of San Jacinto and lived here until after the was between the states. He was a very successful business man and at the time of his death was several times a millionaire
Sept 26
The death of Major A.L. Steele, an old Houstonian, occurred yesterday forenoon at the home of Mrs. Shephard. Major Steele has been an invalid for some time, having suffered a stroke of paralysis about a year ago while on a visit to Fort Davis..