Heart McMurry Lasater, 86, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 3, 2023, in Beaumont, Texas. Heart was born in Sulphur, La. on Dec. 13, 1936, to T. D. “Buster” and Jeannette Etie McMurry. Heart’s acceptance of Jesus as her Lord and Savior was absolute and unwavering, and in her final days, she remained steadfast in her belief that her victory in the form of eternal life awaited her and she looked forward to reuniting with her family that preceded her arrival in the presence of God. Among her favorite passages from the Scriptures was Psalms 40:1-3: 

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;

 he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.

Heart graduated from Sulphur High School in 1955, and married her high school sweetheart, R. C. “Bob” Lasater in 1957. While in high school, she played the saxophone in the Sulphur High band, even beginning in the seventh grade, and was a member of the Homecoming Court. She also competed in rodeo with good friends Cotton Kinney and his sister “Blue Eyes” Kinney.

In the mid-1960’s Heart and R. C. moved to North Little Rock , Ark., and later to Houston, Texas as his engineering practice grew. Later she moved to Bryan, Texas, where she resided until 2019, when she moved to Beaumont to be closer to her daughter Jennifer.

She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Houston Baptist University and later received the Master of Library Science degree from Sam Houston State. Heart volunteered as a Docent at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station in the 1990’s and was able to personally meet President Bush (‘41) at one of his visits there. Since that encounter occurred during the 2000 Presidential campaign in which his son George W. Bush was the Republican nominee, she was excited to be able to shake his hand and proudly tell him “it is a great pleasure to meet the father of the next President of the United States,” to which he responded with a laugh and the words, “I hope you’re right!” That was true to form for Heart, as she was always ready and prepared to meet any excitement and challenge with confidence, humor and a little added flair.

Heart loved to travel, and on many occasions recruited her sisters to join in on the trips. She especially adored being “Mimi” to her grandchildren and she always made extra efforts to make memories for and with them. They will hold those wonderful memories for the rest of their lives.

Heart was preceded in death by her husband, R. C.; her parents, T. D. “Buster” and Jeannette Etie McMurry;  her niece, Shelley Dee Nelson; and her brother-in-law, Johnny Stone.

She is survived by her children, David C. Lasater and his wife Melissa, Barry Sloan Lasater, and Jennifer Lasater Gardner and her husband Gates. She is also survived by her eight grandchildren, Don Hunter Gardner and his wife Sarah, Gage Lasater Gardner and his wife Kelsey, Robert Clinton Lasater, Victoria Heart Lasater, Hope Elisabeth Gardner, Mark David Lasater, Maddox Cole Gardner, Manning Chase Gardner; her two great-grandchildren, Scarlett Marie and Ivy May; her four siblings, Maribeth McMurry Nelson and her husband Jerry, Kathleen “Kathie” McMurry Stone, Mark McMurry and his wife Ann, and Debbie McMurry Abel and her husband Doug; numerous nephews and nieces; and last, but certainly not least, her beloved Maltese “Molly.”

A graveside service at Mimosa Pines South will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 7, 2023, with  the Rev. Tracy MacKenzie officiating, and under the direction of Johnson and Robison Funeral Home of Sulphur.

The family wishes to acknowledge and express gratitude for the passionate care given to her over the recent past by the staff of the Brookdale care facility in Beaumont, as well as the Texas Total Care Hospice agency. 

Fond memories and words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.robisonfuneralhome.com.