Corinne Mae Popielarczyk

July 28, 1927 - March 30, 2011

Corinne Vaughn Popielarczyk was born in Pt. Arthur, TX to Louise Fournet Vaughn and Herbert J. Vaughn on July 28, 1927 and grew up in Pt. Arthur during the great depression and World War II. She passed away on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at Harbor Hospice in Beaumont. She was a 1947 graduate of Thomas Jefferson HS in Port Arthur and went on to graduate from Chenier Business College studying Business & Book Keeping. She worked for several local businesses before marrying a merchant mariner and becoming a professional mom. She was a lifelong Catholic and a longtime member of Immaculate Conception and then St. Peter's Catholic Church in Groves, where she has served as a Eucharistic Minister along with her husband. She was a tireless advocate for education at home and in the community. She was honored with a lifetime PTA membership for her many years of work with PAISD PTA's at GM Sims Elementary, Thomas Edison Junior HS and Thomas Jefferson HS. She enjoyed refinishing antiques, designing and making stained glass windows and travel. In recent years she has been active in several neighborhood garden clubs & a collectors' club. She was a great cook who loved to entertain. Her Fournet family gumbo recipes passed down and perfected through generations have been shared and enjoyed around the world. Her greatest achievement in life is that she will be remembered by her children as a loving mom and a role model parent who gave us a moral compass, set expectations, held us accountable, encouraged us to dream and set us free to try. The life lessons she taught will live on long after this day. We will miss her and await the day when we see her again. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Cora Mae Forey, her brothers, Martin and Herbert Vaughn and her husband, John Popielarczyk. She is survived by her daughter, Kathryn Weldon and husband Glen of Clear Lake, Texas, her sons, John Popielarczyk and wife Debbie of Mannsfield, Texas, Stephen Popielarczyk and wife Nita Dianne of Beaumont, Texas, Donald Popielarczyk and wife Louise Ann of Beaumont, Texas, Karl Popielarczyk and wife Karen of Cypress, Texas along with 13 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren, her sister, Lena Rose Hudspeth of Port Arthur, Texas as well as numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of Flowers, the family request memorial contributions to Port Arthur International Seafarer's Center, P. O. Box 1646, Port Arthur, Texas 77641-1646 or University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, P. O. Box 4486, Houston, Texas 77210-4486 in memory of Corinne.