Walther
Junice Jaster Walther, 93, of Round Top, passed away on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
Junice was the last of four born in the family home in Carmine on Aug. 30, 1930. The home still stands and is known as Pecan Grove B & B. She was a beautiful child and her mother would put her long hair in curls. People in Carmine said she looked like her puppa (doll). She had the nickname of “Puppa” for her whole life. Her parents were Alfred Jaster and Ida Werner Jaster who ran the Village Café in downtown Carmine. Junice spent her entire schooling at RTC ISD. When she started school, she could only speak German. She soon learned English with the help of Ms. Nora Braun. Later, Arnold Keilers and John Banik were notable teachers to her. She graduated from RTC HS in 1947. She attended Blinn College and then Sam Houston College.
Frank Walther of Warda would always save a seat for Junice on the Blinn bus. A romance bloomed into an engagement. Junice married Frank Walther in the Martin Luther Lutheran Church in Carmine on Jan. 29, 1950. They moved into an Austin apartment on Sixth Street and Frank attended UT. Then, they moved to Houston and bought their first home in the new, far north Oak Forest subdivision. They lived there for 50 years.
Junice worked many years as church secretary for Gethsemane Lutheran Church. From the 1950s and 1960s, Junice made a second weekend home at The Carmine Gun and Rod Club located at Flagpond in Lee Co. In 1964, they moved to Fayette Co. and created a second weekend home. The family developed 111 acres they purchased on Rohde Rd. near Warrenton.
Junice was a true German cook and made three meals a day from scratch. She pickled, canned and made jellies from her gardens. Her love of canning was inherited from her mother. She kept track of her three children, took care of two homes, helped her close Fayette Co. relatives and many pets. She was a force to be respected.
Working hard was her German way of showing how much she loved her family. Every Sunday, she would have everyone dressed in their finest for church and Sunday school. Junice read her children Bible stories when they were young. The whole family attended La Grange’s Camp Lone Star for church summer camp. The family took many wonderful vacations together. They explored Yellowstone in the days of bears begging at your car windows. Junice taught her children respect, honesty, thrift and the value of hard work. Through her hard work and thrift, she put all three children through college without taking out a loan.
She and Frank were married 68 years. During this lifetime together, a wonderful family legacy was created. Treasured were their three children, five grandchildren and their heart adopted Wantland and Koch families. Junice wanted part of her legacy to be that everyone should have their eyes checked for degenerative eye diseases. She missed her eyesight so much. Junice will always be remembered for her abiding faith in God, being a willing servant of God and living a long, rewarding Christian life. She has joined Frank in Heaven.
Junice is survived by her three children : David Walther of Round Top, Larry Walther and his wife Sarah of San Antonio, and Betty Pior and her husband Gary of Round Top. She is survived by five grandchildren: Matthew Walther, Michael Pior, Brittany Walther, Rachel Dangerfield and Jeffrey Walther.
A visitation will be held at Koenig-Belvill Funeral Home & Cremations in La Grange, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, from 12 to 7 p.m. Family will be present to receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m.
Funeral services for Junice will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Round Top. Burial will follow at Hill Cemetery in Round Top.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Round Top, P.O. Box 38, Round Top, TX 78954 or to the Gardenia Janssen Animal Shelter, 240 Svoboda Lane, La Grange, TX 78945.
The family would like a special thanks to Zsamirreia, or as Mom called her “Monique,” for her loving care provided to Junice along with thanking Brazos Valley Hospice.
Family and friends can view and sign the guestbook online at www.lagrangefunerals. com.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Koenig-Belvill Funeral Home & Cremations in La Grange.