Visit The Grave Sites Of Historic Houston Women

HOUSTON, TX -- Instead of getting scared this Halloween, try getting inspired. Houston's Service Corporation International (SCI) is holding its sixth annual “Stories of Love & Courage: Women Who Made Houston" cemetery tour Nov. 3 from 1 to 6 p.m. The tour will visit the grave sites of historic women who helped develop the city of Houston, the organization stated in a news released.

"At each grave site, descendants of the woman or representatives of the organization she created will be present to share their stories and experiences," SCI stated.

SCI provides deathcare products and services. The organization has 1,486 funeral homes and 480 cemeteries (of which 285 are combination locations) in 44 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Tickets for the tour can be purchased by calling 713-364-6344 or through Paypal at paypal.me/houstonarchaeology; proceeds benefit Archaeology Now, SCI said.

Check out the list of grave sites below.

Departing from the Heritage Society at 1100 Bagby, the first stop of the tour will be Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, where the graves of the following women will be visited:

• Ninfa Laurenzo, a restaurateur who founded Ninfa's Mexican restaurant
• Domenique de Menil, founder of Houston’s prestigious Menil Collection
• Mae-Ann Eng Quan, founder of a grocery store in the Heights that served Houston's African-American population during segregation
• Bernice Ella Hale, founder of “Soldier’s Rest” area at Forest Park Lawndale
• Kezia Payne DePelchin, founder of DePelchin Children’s Center

At College Park, an African-American Cemetery maintained by Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, the tour will visit the resting places of:

• Annie Pruitt Hagen, a midwife who established Houston’s first African-American nursing school
• Lucy Waller, a highly-esteemed nanny hired by the Autry family who began her life as a slave
• Pinky Yates, a teacher who worked tirelessly to educate her community and was influential in establishing one of Houston's earliest schools for African-American children

The tour will conclude at Glenwood Cemetery with stops at the following grave sites:

• Ruth House, co-founder of DePelchin Children's Center
• Alice Baker, co-founder of BakerRipley community organization
• Charlotte Allen, wife of Houston founder Augustus Allen who is known as the “Mother of Houston”
• Elizabeth McGregor, a real estate developer who donated the land to the City of Houston that would become McGregor Park and who established the first integrated sports venues

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