Born on February 28, 1927 in Amarillo, Texas to Mae Kight Brummett and Claude Brummett, Claudia died peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones on Jan 4, 2022 in Colleyville, TX.
Viewing will be at Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home, Colleyville, TX on Tuesday January 11th, 5:30-7:30pm.
A service for the Celebration of her life will be at Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home, Colleyville, TX on Wednesday January 12th at 3pm, with a reception following.
A Requiem Mass will be offered at the Church of the Holy Comforter, Cleburne, TX on Friday January 14th at 3pm, with a reception following.
Private burial will be at Claude Cemetery in Claude, TX on Monday January 17th.
She attended Amarillo public schools and Amarillo College before attending the University of Colorado at Boulder.
After college, she worked at the Santa Fe Railroad in Amarillo investigating lost rail cars. This was the days of vacuum tube messaging and a very small number of women in corporate America. She worked in downtown Amarillo while taking care of her mother until her death in 1968. Then she got the political bug. A family friend, Jay Taylor got her interested in politics and she took to that like a duck to water. She was appointed to a committee within the Democratic Party in 1972 that selected delegates for the National Convention. She had experience at National Conventions as she attended the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a delegate, withstood the anti Vietnam protests and was witness to the violent atmosphere. Later in the 70’s, she served on the Democratic National Committee, but like many conservative Democrats, she pledged to the Republican party in those years She continued to be active politically in her local races and supported many candidates. During her political activities in the late 60’s, she met Julianan Cowden. Julianan was a Texas oil heiress who enjoyed the political arena too, though she was much, much, much quieter than Claudia. Claudia retired from the railroad and moved to Alvarado, TX to live with Julianan at her ranch. Together they made a great team that lasted many years. They served on many committees, started businesses, traveled, made jewelry, fished, entertained, and basically had a great time. They bought property in Ouray, Colorado in the late 70’s and maintained a second home there, where she spent every summer and hosted hundreds of guests over the years. She loved to jeep in the high country and covered most of the trails around Ouray, Silverton, and Telluride. They were members of the Confrerie Saint-Etienne Alsatian wine society in Fort Worth where they met a great number of their friends. Her 50th birthday party at the Century II Club in downtown Fort Worth was attended by well over a hundred people and was a most memorable experience that all of us still talk about and where she was crowned as Empress of the Western World. Claudia always had animals. She and Julianan would travel back and forth to Colorado with as many as 4 cats and 4 dogs. At the ranch they had cattle, horses, and miniature horses along with dozens of outdoor cats. Julianan died of cancer in 1990 and Claudia continued to live in Alvarado at JAL Ranch for another 20+ years. Claudia remained active throughout her life and only slowed down over the last few years. She travelled all over the world by boat, car and plane. Her and Julianan actually went to China in the early 80’s when that was a rare destination. She will forever be remembered for her fast driving, huge number of friends, great stories, colorful jokes, strong coffee, stronger drinks, fearless personality, generosity, and heart as big as her native state of Texas. She sent many kids to college, let people live in her house, employed them, loaned money to them, invested in their ideas, all the while never expecting anything in return. Claudia always trusted people to be good.
She is survived by “her kids”, nephew Jay Brummett of Austin, TX; great nephew Marc Meadows and his wife, Marea of Fort Worth, TX; great nephew Jay Meadows and his wife Toni of Aledo, TX, great nephew Jon Sinclair and his wife Sheri of Colleyville, TX; great nephew Andrew Brummett and his wife Jessica of Austin, TX; great nephew Ben Brummett and his wife Staci of Austin, TX; great niece Elizabeth Behncke and her husband Matt of Houston, TX; and 13 great, great nieces and nephews.
It was Claudia Brummett’s wish that any memorial tributes be made in the form of charitable donations to: Church of the Holy Comforter (www.holycomfortercleburne.org/giving); or the Ouray County Historical Society (www.ouraycountyhistoricalsociety.org); or Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch (www.calfarley.org).
