Jack and Winnie Mae Murchisom

Jack and Winnie Mae Murchisom

Written by Amy Stansbury Wednesday, 07 June 2006

Jack Charles and Winnie Mae Kuempel Murchison had good reasons to care deeply about Pflugerville. Generations on both sides of their families lived in the area, but it is the couple’s devotion to their community that makes them the first in our new Community Icon feature.

During Winnie Mae’s senior year at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, she came home to visit her family and attended a turkey dinner at Immanuel Lutheran Church, where she met Jack. He had recently finished serving in the United States Army during World War II.

“The community was small, so I knew of him and his family, but that was the first time we had actually met, and we started dating right away,” Winnie Mae said, smiling.

The couple married on June 27, 1953, and eventually had three children: Debby, Diane and Jack Jr.

In the late 1960’s, their son, Jack Jr., was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition which caused impaired vision.

“Jack Jr. went to the Texas Lions Camp,” Winnie Mae recalls, “and it was such an amazing experience for him. It really inspired Jack to become part of the Lions Club. He was very passionate about their services in helping pay for eye exams and glasses for less-fortunate children.”

Because of his appreciation for what the camp offered his son, he helped charter the Pflugerville Lions International Club in 1976.

Around the same time, Jack became the first auxiliary mail carrier of Pflugerville and held the position for six years.

“I would buy those huge buckets of chewing gum,” Winnie Mae said, “and Jack just loved handing them out to children he saw each day along his route.”

His love for children influenced him to run for a seat on the school board where he served from 1962-1974. Jack’s community involvement also included serving as president of the Manville Water Board of Directors.

Winnie Mae was a first grade teacher for two years before deciding to stay home and raise her children. Once they were grown she returned to her career in 1974. She worked in the Pflugerville schools as a special education teacher and substitute teacher coordinator until retirement in 1995 and continued working part-time as a Pflugerville High School receptionist until 2005.

With an education degree and a career as a teacher, Winnie Mae’s enthusiasm for literacy and books influenced her to become a founding member of the Board of Directors for the Pflugerville Community Library in 1982.

Today, Winnie Mae still volunteers to read to children at Copperfield Elementary, where her daughter Debby is a teacher, and at Murchison Elementary, named for Jack who passed away in December 1997. Just after his death, Jack and Winnie Mae were named Citizens of the Year by the Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce.

KUEMPEL HOUSE FACTS

Built in 1903, on Immanuel Rd. and is registered as a historical landmark. Jack and Winnie Mae moved into her parent’s house in 1982, after The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas completed filming.

Movies that featured the house:

• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas - 1982 with Dolly Parton & Burt Reynolds; The World Premiere held at the house. Jack and Winnie Mae interviewed by The Today Show
• Hard Promises – 1991 with Sissy Spacek and William L. Petersen
• Children of the Corn IV – 1996 with Naomi Watts and Brent Jennings
• Elvis & Annabelle – 2006 with Amber Tamblyn and Shia LaBeouf
• Commercials: Frito Lay, Blue Bell Ice Cream, Farm Credit Union

Editor’s note: When you go to Winnie Mae’s house for any reason, you find yourself staying longer than intended. The warmth and genuine interest shows in her welcome as she leads you through her home filled with memories of her life out to her den, and you find yourself seated on a well-worn antique sofa with beautiful aerial views of her beloved farm house on the wall behind you. You realize you are visiting with someone who knows her city – knows what it was and what it is becoming and continues to make a difference in her community in any way she can, just as her husband did during the 44 years they were married.