THELMA BRAUN - Honorary Member & Club Pianist

The Rotary Club of Denison, Texas and a musical career have been Thelma Braun's life for more than 65 years and she's still going strong. Once a week Thelma has joined "her boy friends" for the Rotary lunch and has played piano accompaniment for a sing-song.

"Sometimes they sound better than they do at other times," Thelma joked. "When they sing 'Vive Le Rotary,' they really get with it," she said, admitting that the women's voices now in the group are a big help. Thelma delights in selecting songs that fit the occasion. She's typed song sheets for Rotarians to follow each week.

About ten years after Thelma graduated from St. Xavier's Academy in 1920, just as she was getting settled teaching piano and voice lessons, Jerome McKinney, president of the Rotary Club at that time, and Leo Short, a funeral home director who was active in the club, asked her mother if Thelma could plays piano accompaniment for their weekly Rotary meetings. When Mrs. Braun gave her approval, the men told her they would take good care of Thelma.

Fellow Rotarians have honored the word of their earlier brothers and Thelma has become a cornerstone of the club with her long years of devotion to the club.

Sixty-five years of service and 92 years of age earn for Thelma a possible "only one" status in Rotary. The Denison Club thinks that record cannot be beaten.

Club secretary Joe Dusek called Thelma every Thursday morning to see that she gets to the Depot Building in Denison where lunch meetings were held. Ed Harris, song leader, meets briefly with Thelma to find out her selections for the day (See Photo above).

Except for a period when she broke her hip a few years ago, Thelma has seldom missed a meeting. She says she has too good a time to miss. She's even attended a number of conventions with groups of Rotarians and wives in years past.

One of her fondest memories is of accompanying Rotarians on a special event on the "Idletime," a partyboat that once operated on Lake Texoma, near Denison. The captain even allowed Thelma to steer the boat.

Several years ago, during Bill Dorsey's tenure as president, Thelma was made a Paul Harris Fellow. She's also an honorary member and was given a bronze plaque 35 years ago for her years of continuous service.

Thelma has developed a friendship through the years with three generations of Rotarians. She always finds it interesting when a grandson - or granddaughter - of one of the original club members joins the Denison Club. "I remember crying. when the older members died," she recalls, saying "They were so good to me.

Thelma has lived all her life in the house in which she was born, across the street from Denison's Forest Park. She learned to skate and ride a pony if that park and has always enjoyed watching the children play there. She also still owns a farmhouse that belonged to her grandparents and has been in the family for 120 years.

A piano teacher for 25 years, Thelma has also taught voice lessons. Prior to 1970, when Perrin Air Force Base was operating near Denison, Thelma was organist and choir director for 20 years at the Perrin AFB Chapel. During the period she won a bronze plaque in national competition with the Air Force Choir

Thelma has seen good music directors and even a few bad ones through the years, but the voices of the members singing always sound the wonderful, she said, adding that she doesn't mind a few out of time, out of tune voices because like a mother with her children, they all sound good to her.

Thelma passed away in 1998 and will be missed by the Denison Rotary Club.  As one of her last wishes, she left a donation to the Club to be used to fund college scholarships for Denison students. Thelma lived the Rotary 4 Way Test.