OBITUARY
Henrietta Meacham went to be with her Lord on January 11, 2026, at the age of 86.
Henrietta Smith Meacham was born on February 5, 1939 at the family home in Mereta, on the corner of FM Hwy 380 and FM Hwy 1692.
She was born to Claudia and William Henry Smith. She attended Mereta and Eola schools. After high school she attended San Angelo Business College.
She had five siblings. Mom was the last surviving child of Claudia and Henry. Henrietta married Kenneth Frank Meacham in 1958. They had two children, Roger and Vickie.
Henrietta was a housewife and stay at home mom until about 1972 when she went to work for the Tom Green County Water Control District at Veribest, assisting farmers in ordering their irrigation water.
After that, in 1978 she went to work at Ethicon, now called Johnson & Johnson where she made many, many friends and sold many, many Hummingbird cakes. She loved her Ethicon peeps like they were family and would give them the shirt off her back. She retired from Ethicon in 2001.
When she left Ethicon, she and Daddy transported cars for Jim Bass Ford. Mama was Daddy’s GPS! After they had enough of the road, Mama took a job at the Harris Ave Baptist Church Day Care in 2007 working in the baby room where she tended to the little ones from birth to one year old. She fed, changed, and patted them to sleep. Everyone called her “Granny”. Some of the young ‘uns she took care of only know her as “Granny”. They didn’t even know she had a real name!
She finally retired again, this time from the day care. The only reason she had to quit the day care was the state made them get rid of the tall baby beds which meant she would have to bend over to the floor almost to pick up and put down babies. Her hip, back, and knee would not allow her body to do that which meant she had to stay home and put up with Daddy full-time. She waited on him hand and foot. If you know, you know.
Mom and dad were active members at HABC where they served on the hospitality committee and kitchen team. They loved their church family. Several years after she quit the day care, her memory began to fail. It was slow at first and she hated it. She used to say she wished her mind could be right. She loved her cats and dogs, they were her constant companions.
Daddy was so patient with her. He would tell her the date, time, and weather forecast over, and over, and over.
Daddy passed on Dec. 9, 2020.
After that Terri, Roger, and I took care of Mom at home. We kept her there in her familiar environment as long as we could. We enlisted the help of our sweet friends at Gentiva Hospice. They were amazing.
Eventually it became clear we would need to move her into a Memory Care Unit. We chose Bronte. Gentiva continued to help us. Mom lived in Bronte for two years, where she was a pistol. After almost a year at Bronte her disease process plateaued for a period of time. On December 1, 2025 we opted to move her to Central Texas Nursing and Rehab Center in Ballinger. They felt it would be better not to put Mom in the Memory Care Unit. She had already begun to decline again so we called on our friends at Gentiva again. They took her on as a patient again. After the move, she declined quickly.
On Sunday, January 11, 2026 Mom went to be with the Lord. Her struggle is over. She is reunited with Daddy, her siblings, and her mom and daddy. Her health and memory are fully restored by the ultimate healing. She now resides in the mansion Jesus promises all believers.
She is preceded in death by both her parents, husband, Kenneth, and all her siblings.
Survivors include: Son, Roger and wife, Terri; Ethan Meacham, grandson, and daughter, Vickie Meacham. Numerous nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation to your favorite charity.
A special thanks to Bronte Health and Rehab Center, Central Texas Nursing and Rehab Center in Ballinger, and to Gentiva Hospice, especially our sweet CNA, Samantha Tatro, who has been on this dementia journey with us from the beginning.
There are no services listed at this time.
— From Shaffer Funeral Home
