Marguerite Barnes dies at 88

Marguerite Johnston Barnes, a noted Houston historian and journalist died Tuesday. She was 88.
Barnes was born Aug. 7, 1917, in Birmingham, Ala., to Robert C. and Marguerite Johnston, longtime educators who instilled in their only child a love of education.
She came to Houston in 1946 and worked at the Houston Post for the next 37 years as a columnist, foreign news editor, associate editor and assistant editor of the editorial page.
She was the author of two books, Houston, the Unknown City 1836-1946, and A Happy Worldly Abode, Christ Church Cathedral 1839-1964, which she published under her maiden name. The latter was a history of the Christ Church Cathedral, an Episcopalian church established in 1839 and one of the oldest churches in Houston.
In an interview, Barnes once said, "I always felt Houston has never gotten acknowledgment for its leaders at a national or international level. You always hear that they're from Texas, but never from Houston."
She always believed that Houstonians had contributed to changing the world.
A daughter, Patricia Ricks, said Barnes developed an attachment to the city, its people and history that remained with her throughout her life. "She was just very, very proud to be a Houstonian and she wanted that story told," Ricks said.
While in Houston, Barnes worked at the Post and developed a close friendship with Oveta Culp Hobby, editor of the newspaper. In her eulogy of her longtime friend, Barnes described Hobby as "one of the greatest leaders the United States has ever produced."
Barnes graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama. Her first job was with the Works Progress Administration. She later started work at the Birmingham News. During World War II, she worked as the Washington bureau chief for the News and the London Daily Mirror.
In 1946, she married Charles Winn Barnes, a former college classmate, in Washington. She moved with her husband, a geologist, to Houston later that year.
In 1947, Hobby hired Barnes to work at the Post. "They just took to each other," Ricks said.
Hobby's son, former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, said his family and the Barnses grew close through the years and often spent time together.
"She was one of the most gracious people, certainly that I've ever met," he said. "By the time she'd been here two years, she knew everybody in town."
Barnes is survived by her husband, Charles; three daughters, the Rev. Susan J. Barnes of Austin, Patricia Ricks of Newport Beach, Calif., and Polly Coleman of The Woodlands; and a son, Steven Barnes of Austin.
A memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas. Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

-- By ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA, Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle