Florine Hankla

1920 - 2009  (88 years)

• Name	Florine Hankla  [1]
  Birth	19 Dec 1920	Geneva, Sabine County, Texas   [1]
  Gender	Female
  Death	5 Dec 2009	Austin, Travis County, Texas   [1]
  Notes	Florine Hankla Ramsey Florine Hankla Ramsey was born in Geneva, Sabine County, Texas on December 19, 1920 and died December 5, 2009 in Austin, Texas. She was the third of four children born to Samuel Flournoy and Elma Smith Hankla. She found the love of her life when she married Ben Ramsey, an attorney and Texas State Senator from San Augustine, in 1943. They were married in Boulder, Colorado, where she was a student at the University of Colorado at Boulder. They honeymooned on a road-trip back to San Augustine through Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, using precious gasoline ration coupons given to them by friends and family as wedding gifts. While she loved Austin and resided there for most of her adult life, her roots were in East Texas. She maintained a home in San Augustine and continued to vote there for the rest of her life. She attended Stephen F. Austin State College in Nacogdoches, North Texas State College in Denton as well as the University of Colorado at Boulder. She taught first through third grade in a one-room schoolhouse in San Augustine County. Florine was a proud member of the Ezekiel Cullen Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and her ancestors were early settlers in Sabine County in East Texas. She grew up on a farm where every meal was made from scratch and learned from her mother to be a masterful cook and baker. She even gave renowned cookbook author and teacher, Helen Corbitt (director of food service for Neiman Marcus, the Driskill Hotel and The University of Texas), a few tips and recipes. To this day, a meat processing company in Austin still uses her recipe for making the best venison sausage ever. Florine loved to travel and for more than 50 years was part of a monthly poker group. For more than 30 years, Florine was a political wife: when Ben was a State Senator, Texas Secretary of State, Lt. Governor of Texas, and Railroad Commissioner for the State of Texas. She cut an elegant and stylish figure at the Capitol and was known throughout her life for being smart, witty and charming. You could just as easily find her beautifully attired in a ball gown or up on the roof of their home repairing a shingle. She was one of the lucky few able to call the Texas State Capitol home, living in the Lt. Governor's apartment for more than a decade with her family. She recalled having to haul groceries through the chamber when the Senate was in session. She was the longest serving member of the Senate Ladies Club having joined in 1944. She is preceded in death by her parents; by her brothers Randolph and Jim Hankla; and by her beloved husband of 41 years, Ben Ramsey. She is survived by her older sister, Ernestine Hankla Henry, of Nacogdoches; by her three daughters: Rita Ramsey Kreisle and husband Matthew of Austin; Ann Hankla Ramsey of San Augustine; and MariBen Ramsey and partner Karen Kahan of Austin; by her only grandchild, Claudia Ramsey Kreisle of Houston; and by many nieces and nephews. Services will be held at the First United Methodist Church in San Augustine, Texas on Tuesday, December 8 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Florine and Ben Ramsey Scholarship Fund at the San Augustine Scholarship Foundation, PO Box 671, San Augustine, TX 75972, to the Austin Community Foundation, P.O. Box 5159, Austin, TX 78763 (www.austincommunityfoundation.org) or to a charity of your choice. Arrangements by Wyman Roberts Funeral Home, San Augustine Published in the Austin American Statesman on December 6, 2009 Published in The Sabine County Reporter, December 9, 2009 Published in The San Augustine Tribune, December 19, 2009
  Person ID	I34747	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	17 Aug 2014

  
  

  Father	Samuel Flournoy Hankla,   b. 22 Dec 1879, Sabine County, Texas d. 31 Jul 1966, Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas (Age 86 years)
  Mother	Lula Elma Smith,   b. 23 Sep 1895, Texas d. 18 Jan 1964, San Augustine, San Augustine County, Texas (Age 68 years)
  Family ID	F10937	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Ben T. Ramsey,   b. 28 Dec 1903, San Augustine County, Texas d. 27 Mar 1985, Austin, Travis County, Texas (Age 81 years)
  Marriage	Abt 1943	Boulder, Boulder County, Colorado
  Children	1. Living   2. Living   3. Living
  Family ID	F5805	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	17 Dec 2009

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 19 Dec 1920 - Geneva, Sabine County, Texas Marriage - Abt 1943 - Boulder, Boulder County, Colorado Death - 5 Dec 2009 - Austin, Travis County, Texas  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S336] The Sabine County Reporter, P.O. Box 700, Hemphill, Texas (Published Weekly), (Founded in 1883, The Sabine County Reporter (USPS 474-660) is published once a week on Wednesday. The Reporter is Published by Sabine County Reporter, Inc. Postmaster: Send change of address to P.O. Box 700, Hemphill, Texas 75948-0700. The Sabine County Reporter and The Rambler merged March 1, 1988. Member National Newspaper Association and Texas Press Association.), December 9, 2009 (Reliability: 3).