Deloris “Dodie” (Chambers) Nail, 92, of Kerrville Texas, formerly of Vichy, Vienna and Houston, Texas, plus overseas in Venezuela, Egypt, Iran and Norway, passed away Monday, Oct. 20, 2023.
She was born June 10, 1931, to George Leferage and Ida Ann Chambers in Vichy; the youngest of six children. Her older sister, Bernice, and four older brothers, Elmer, Ed, Earl and Butch, doted on her as the baby of the family.
She was united in marriage to Everett Thrall, in 1949, a WWII veteran with the Army Air Corp. Their only child, son Jordan, was born in Odessa, Texas in 1951. Everett was a highly regarded employee of Phillips Petroleum, whose engineering background and management skills led them to an adventurous life from Odessa to Maracaibo, Venezuela to Alexandria, Egypt to Oslo, Norway to Tehran, Iran (where Jordan graduated from High School) and back to Norway; this time to Stavanger. Along the way, they had the opportunity to visit numerous other countries in Europe and the Middle East. Dodie dined with both kings (the Shah) and paupers and treated them all with dignity and respect.
Everett had an untimely death in Stavanger in 1974, and Dodie returned to the United States a widow at age 43. Recognizing that she would need to find work, and armed only with a high school education, she enrolled in a secretarial school. After graduation, she began her search for employment at a medium-sized oil company in Houston, Texas. The interviewer scanned her resume, noted that she had no experience and asked what made her think she would be qualified. She replied that oil company executives loved to travel to their overseas offices, particularly if they were in scenic and/or exotic places; at which times they were usually accompanied by spouses. She said that she had arranged numerous dinner parties or banquets for the executives and their wives and had led the latter to shops and bazaars and helped them bargain in five different languages. She was hired on the spot with no regrets.
Some years later she married Edwin S. Nail, a lawyer who worked in both the petroleum and communications sectors. They moved to Kerrville in the mid 1990’s. Mr. Nail died in 2013.
In 2017, she exchanged wedding vows with John T. (Ted) Schulenberg, and they continued to live in Kerrville. Before Dodie became ill, she enjoyed playing bridge with her friends, doing crossword puzzles and traveling around the country with Ted to enjoy the scenery and visit relatives, where they were always welcomed with open arms.
Dodie was the last survivor of her generation of the Chambers family. She was also the glue that helped bind them together as ‘family’ through the years. Despite the distance (most live in Missouri or California) she often visited or was visited by nieces, nephews and younger family members. She was loved, adored, and respected by all.
She was preceded in death by parents, George and Ida; husbands, Everett and Ed; son, Jordan, who, like his father, had an early, untimely death.
She is survived by daughter-in-law, Rosanne Thrall; and husband, Ted Schulenberg, both of Kerrville, Texas, and by many loving family members.
For those who may wish to contribute to a charity in her name, please feel free to do so with the one of your choice or select her favorite — Doctors Without Borders.
