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Saturday
March 20, 2010 Since 1922 |
Elderly Beach City woman found dead in quarry
By Ken Fountain
Baytown Sun Published June 18, 2005 BEACH CITY — An elderly Beach City woman was found dead Friday morning after apparently becoming disoriented and getting her van stuck on a dirt road leading to a West Chambers County sand quarry Thursday.
Artrude Wolffe, 83, had visited her hairdresser early Thursday morning and told people there she was going to a nearby Walgreen’s store. But employees of the pharmacy later told authorities she never arrived. Family members reported her missing to the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office Thursday evening.
According to Justice of the Peace Larry Cryer, who performed the field inquest and pronounced Wolffe dead, employees of Smart’s Sand Pit found her body in a seated position near her running van, which was stuck in a secluded area of the quarry.
There were no signs of foul play. An autopsy to determine the exact cause of death will be performed by the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Jeanne Wolffe, Artrude’s daughter-in-law, described “Mimi” as an always outgoing person.
“She was a real people person. Everyone that knew her loved her,” she said. “A stranger could meet her, and ten minutes later he would walk away thinking he was the most loved person in the world.”
Wolffe and her husband, Exxon Mobil retiree E.J. Wolffe, had lived in their Beach City home on the shore of Galveston Bay for 30 years. The couple, who were lifelong amateur shrimpers, had been married 63 years, her daughter-in-law said.
Artrude had been a bus driver for the Goose Creek school district for 10 years, Jeanne Wolffe said. When she finally retired, she decided to take up painting, something she had always wanted to do.
“She didn’t paint a lick until she retired,” she said. But after taking a class at Lee College, she became a prolific artist. Her landscapes and seascapes fill the family home.
Jeanne Wolffe said her mother-in-law had suffered a number of illnesses in the past year, and had lately shown increasing signs of confusion.
In fact, they learned only Friday that she had become stuck on the same dirt road the week earlier after her weekly hairdresser appointment. But on that day, employees found her and were able to help her.
Jeanne said family members asked her about dirt on her clothes, but she didn’t remember how it got there.
Janet Faust, owner of Hair Archives, said Wolffe had called her early Thursday morning to apologize for being late to her appointment. When she arrived at the store, she stumbled a bit when she came inside, Faust said.
Faust said Wolffe seemed “a little groggy” at first, but after having her hair washed, she started talking and joking with the other women in the salon.
“She was back to her old self,” she said.
“She was wonderful. The whole time she came in here, she was never in a bad mood,” she said.
Daughter-in law Jeanne Wolffe said Artrude “enjoyed life to the fullest. She lived a long satisfied life.”
Baytown Sun Published June 18, 2005 BEACH CITY — An elderly Beach City woman was found dead Friday morning after apparently becoming disoriented and getting her van stuck on a dirt road leading to a West Chambers County sand quarry Thursday.
Artrude Wolffe, 83, had visited her hairdresser early Thursday morning and told people there she was going to a nearby Walgreen’s store. But employees of the pharmacy later told authorities she never arrived. Family members reported her missing to the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office Thursday evening.
According to Justice of the Peace Larry Cryer, who performed the field inquest and pronounced Wolffe dead, employees of Smart’s Sand Pit found her body in a seated position near her running van, which was stuck in a secluded area of the quarry.
There were no signs of foul play. An autopsy to determine the exact cause of death will be performed by the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Jeanne Wolffe, Artrude’s daughter-in-law, described “Mimi” as an always outgoing person.
“She was a real people person. Everyone that knew her loved her,” she said. “A stranger could meet her, and ten minutes later he would walk away thinking he was the most loved person in the world.”
Wolffe and her husband, Exxon Mobil retiree E.J. Wolffe, had lived in their Beach City home on the shore of Galveston Bay for 30 years. The couple, who were lifelong amateur shrimpers, had been married 63 years, her daughter-in-law said.
Artrude had been a bus driver for the Goose Creek school district for 10 years, Jeanne Wolffe said. When she finally retired, she decided to take up painting, something she had always wanted to do.
“She didn’t paint a lick until she retired,” she said. But after taking a class at Lee College, she became a prolific artist. Her landscapes and seascapes fill the family home.
Jeanne Wolffe said her mother-in-law had suffered a number of illnesses in the past year, and had lately shown increasing signs of confusion.
In fact, they learned only Friday that she had become stuck on the same dirt road the week earlier after her weekly hairdresser appointment. But on that day, employees found her and were able to help her.
Jeanne said family members asked her about dirt on her clothes, but she didn’t remember how it got there.
Janet Faust, owner of Hair Archives, said Wolffe had called her early Thursday morning to apologize for being late to her appointment. When she arrived at the store, she stumbled a bit when she came inside, Faust said.
Faust said Wolffe seemed “a little groggy” at first, but after having her hair washed, she started talking and joking with the other women in the salon.
“She was back to her old self,” she said.
“She was wonderful. The whole time she came in here, she was never in a bad mood,” she said.
Daughter-in law Jeanne Wolffe said Artrude “enjoyed life to the fullest. She lived a long satisfied life.”