In Loving Memory
In December we lost a very dear friend and a remarkable person. Most of the public knew that Sarah Weddington changed the lives of untold numbers of women and families. Her friends, students and acquaintances knew that she empowered everyone she met to be their best.
This quote was printed on the back of the program at her memorial service on February 10 at the Texas State Cemetery: “Everyone wants to know they have made a difference … I know I have. I may be tired, but I am not bored.”
August, 2021
Sarah Weddington got together with co-author Gaylon to autograph her chapter, titled "A Preacher's Kid," in which she talks about growing up in little towns in West Texas. At 26 she was the youngest person ever to argue a successful case before the U.S. Supreme Court. That 1973 decision, Roe v Wade, impacted women's health in America forever, giving them the choice over their own bodies.
Sarah McClendon’s childhood home
You can get an even more personal look at the childhood of Notable Texan Sarah McClendon, feisty White House correspondent through eight administrations, by touring the restored Victorian mansion where she grew up in Tyler.
In Growing Up in the Lone Star State: Notable Texans Remember Their Childhoods, Sarah has some revealing recollections of life in the stately mansion in a politically active family.
The McClendon House, 806 W. Houston, in Tyler’s azalea district, was constructed in 1878 on land bought by Sarah’s grandfather, Judge M.H. Bonner, a Texas State Supreme Court justice. His oldest daughter, Mattie, and her husband, attorney Harrison Whitaker, built the beautifully appointed nine-room mansion that would serve as a focal point for Tyler society.
When Mattie died five years later, her younger sister, Anne, and her husband, Sydney McClendon, Sarah’s parents, bought the home to raise their eight children. Sarah, the ninth, child and arguably the most “notable” in modern times, was born in the home in 1910.
Two of Sarah’s siblings who remained in the house in 1981 donated it for historic preservation. A nonprofit organization raised funds to restore and maintain the home, which opened to the public in 1988. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Texas State Historical Landmark and Tyler Historical Landmark.
Individuals and groups can stroll through the beautiful mansion brimming with memorabilia from the family on Fridays and Saturdays. With enough notice, costumed docents will serve as guides.
Traditionally, in October, the Society for the Restoration and Historic Preservations of the Bonner Whitaker McClendon House Inc. offers living history tours with costumed character actors playing family members.
For updates on the availability of the home and for additional information, log on to mcclendonhouse.net or call 903-592-3533.