Serena Ann McDougald Whitley, 71, passed from this life into the loving arms of God on May 20, 2018. She was born in Navasota, Texas to Thurman and Alice (nee Neason) McDougald on January 12, 1947. Following Thurman’s death in 1953, the young family moved to Deer Park, Texas. Serena was graduated from Deer Park High School in 1965 and Sam Houston State University in 1969. She was a life-long educator and she shared her gifts in a variety of settings: continuing education in Geoppingen, Germany with the Department of Defense, GED programs in the Kansas State Prison System, and Texas public school classrooms in Huntsville, Cedar Park, Taylor, and Tarkington. Serena loved to travel, but it was time spent in Ireland that nourished her soul. Most recently, she shared her passion for the Emerald Isle with her daughters during a trip earlier this year. Serena was preceded in death by her father, Thurman McDougald, mother, Alice Neason McDougald Burwell (2015), and her beloved step-father, Percy Shippy Burwell (1978). She is survived by her brother, Douglas Thurman McDougald; her daughters, Lara Whitley Franklin (Travis) and Alicia Whitley Loeffler (Michael); and three grandchildren: Samuel Ross Loeffler, Audrey Ann Loeffler, and Erin Ann Franklin. A funeral service will be held Saturday, May 26 at 12 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, Georgetown, Texas, with The Rev. Dr. J. Eric McKinney officiating. Interment will follow at 5 p.m. at the Shiro Cemetery, Shiro, Grimes County, TX. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the Wesleyan Homes Benevolent Fund, P. O. Box 486, Georgetown, TX 78627.
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