Past Presidents 2003 to 2017

Archie was born in Beaumont, Texas on October 22, 1924 to James Ritchie Hucker  and Nannie Louise Howard Hucker. After the war Archie, as he was then  known graduated from University of Houston in1950 with a BBA. He then  entered the Management Training Program at Foley's. It was there that he  met Billye Rose Culpepper, the love of his life. They married on  September 2, 1950. Shortly after their marriage they joined First United  Methodist Church of Houston and the Adelphi Sunday School Class. These  served as the bulwark of their lives for the next sixty years. 

He is preceded in death by his daughter,  Cassie; his first wife, Earnestine; his parents; 4 brothers and one  sister. He is survived by his son Bill, Jr. and wife Melissa of La  Porte, TX; daughter, Melissa Moore and husband Kenneth of Crockett, TX.;  and his second wife, of 42 years, Mary Lou. Also left to cherish his  memory are his grandchildren and numerous extended family and friends.  In the eleventh grade he joined the U S Army proudly serving in the  Korean War. He worked for the U S postal service retiring in 1999. Bill  and Mary Lou enjoyed traveling; they traveled to all but 4 states in his  travel trailer. They were members of First United Methodist Church of  Houston, and the Adelphi Sunday school class where Bill once served as  president. He served on the Harris County Grand Jury for 3 years. At the  age of 83 and 65 years after his scheduled graduation, Bill finally  received his high school at diploma, which he was so proud of from  Pasadena High School. 

Bill was born on November 16, 1935 to Tom Drew and Willie Mae Baldwin  Wafer in Monroe, Louisiana. Bill graduated from the U.S. Military  Academy at West Point in June 1958. He married Barbara Ann Barger on  August 20, 1960 at Fort Hood, Texas and they shared a beautiful marriage  for 50 years. Bill served with honor in Viet Nam and continued his  service to his country for 20 years, retiring a Lieutenant Colonel from  the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Bill and Barbara were active members  of First United Methodist Church. 

Ruth moved to Houston after graduating from what is now the University of North Texas. She became a member of First Methodist and in 1953 met Dick Palmer in a singles class at church. They married in 1954. Dick passed away in 2017. Ruth has a bachelor's degree in business from North Texas and has taken graduate classes in social work through Texas A&M. She is also an alumna of Perkins School of Theology and is a Diaconal Minister in the United Methodist Church. Ruth served as the executive director at the Wesley Community Center for over 30 years. Wesley was founded by the women of FUMC in 1904. Ruth was instrumental in developing Wesley into the dynamic community center it is today, including getting it established as a United Way agency in 1976. In addition to work, Ruth has also served as a delegate to the Annual and Jurisdictional Conferences as well as to the General Conference multiple times overs over the past 30 years. When not working, Ruth and Dick indulged in their love of travel and explored the world together. Ruth and Dick have 2 children. Cheryl is a member of FUMC Houston and also a member of the Adelphi Class while Tom is a UMC pastor in the North Texas Conference, serving as senior pastor at FUMC, Mesquite. 

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 Born in Nacogdoches May 6, 1947, to John Thomas Spurgeon and Lucille May Ross Spurgeon, Mary Lou lived her entire life in Baytown.  Mary Lou graduated from Lee High School in 1965, and attended Lee College for two years, before earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas in 1970.   

Mary Lou was a Phi Beta Kappa scholar and maintained memberships in teaching and social sororities, as well as the Baytown chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  She earned a master's degree in education from the University of Houston Clear Lake. She spent the early years of her career working in the insurance and wealth management industries where she was eventually introduced to her future husband, John Adams, who proposed to her on their first date!

While working for the State of Texas she began pursuing a teaching certification.  Mary Lou was hired by Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District in 1974.  Later, she spent the majority of her 32-year public education career as the learning and language skills specialist at San Jacinto Elementary and later, Lorenzo De Zavala Elementary.  

Even after retirement, May Lou found herself pulled back into the field, teaching learning and language skills for almost five more years at Saint Joseph private school in Baytown.

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Tom was born in Raton, New Mexico, and raised in the historic coastal town of Velasco, Texas leading to his lifelong interest in Texas history. (Velasco is now part of Freeport , Texas but was the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas in 1837.) 

Tom attended Brazosport high School where he was a class officer, sang in the a Capella choir, and lettered in basketball. Tom married Carol Lang in 1959, while both attended Sam Houston State University. Tom served in Germany as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Returning to Houston, Tom enjoyed a long career in commercial construction. The family business, A.D. Lang Co. spanned decades. Tom was also a Senior Project Manager for the Houston Police Department in the Facilities, Planning and Design Division. As a long time member of FUMC, Tom chaired the Building and Grounds Committee. He served on the FUMC Administrative Board and was a faithful member of the Adelphi Sunday School Class. Tom enjoyed family visits, Quintana Beach (in Brazosport, on the Texas gulf), New Orleans jazz, fine cigars, classic cars and sports.

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John and Ellen joined FUMC in 1994 and became a member of the Logos Class, serving as President twice. John and Ellen married at FUMC in 1997 and were Charles Thompson's first wedding!  John and Ellen moved out to the West campus with Rev. Charles Thompson in 2001, and helped Charles start the Good News Class. They missed the feel of the downtown church and came back in about 2003. John joined the Adelphi Class in about 2010 and filmed our class lessons from 2015 to 2020 (paused due to Covid).  John also helps Cheryl O Brien manage the class web site. Professionally, John became a Neuromuscular Therapist in 1989 (a second career), and has worked at the World Championships and the Olympic games with Gold Medal winner Carl Lewis. John still takes clients in his office and since 1998 has trained therapists, managing a group practice. John is also developing a therapy teaching web site. Ellen is still a member of the Logos class and has served in several leadership positions including class president. Professionally, Ellen has been a Personal Trainer since 2003 (second career). They have no children so their "child" was Duncan the parrot, who lived from 1994 to 2019! They now have a second "child", Dexter the parrot, who has been a frequent video  guest while the class has "stay home" Zoom classes due to the coronavirus lockdown.

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Lynn joined First Methodist Church in 2011. She was born and raised in New Braunfels, Texas and graduated from Texas Lutheran College in Seguin, Texas. She married Bill Larson in 1972 and they have lived in Houston since then. They have three married children and 5 grandchildren. Lynn was a homemaker, and also taught kindergarten for 20 years. Her hobbies include reading, needlework and bicycling. 

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