IDA AMES, Texarkana, Bowie Co. Texas Ida Lou Moores Ames, 81, of Texarkana died Monday, Aug. 30, 1999, at her home after a lengthy illness. Arrangements are pending with Texarkana Funeral Home. Visitation will be 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Ida Lou Ames Ida Lou Ames, the last surviving charter member of the Four States Fair Association, died Monday, August 30, 1999 following a long illness. Ames, 81, a member of the pioneer Moores family, was born in Texarkana and was a lifelong resident of Bowie County. She was the owner of Ames Vitamin Shop. "I used to call her health food store `the nerve center' because she had a vast network of contacts and knew practically everyone and their family history," said James Presley, a friend of 37 years. "I often stopped in for a few loaves of bread and peanut butter, a task of maybe 15 minutes, and I left hours later fully informed." As a nutritionist and home economics expert, Ames served as chairman of the Home Arts Committee at the fair for 50 years. She was recently given a 55-year certificate for her service to the fair and was honored in 1994 as the grand marshal for the fair's 50th celebration. "She loved the fair more than anyone I knew," said Betty Nix, administrative assistant of the Four States Fair. "She judged the home arts entries I think from the very first year. I remember her telling that in the early days, when churning butter was a home art, she presented the butter for judging. She opened up the containers one year and the butter had all melted. That was back when keeping things cold was a problem; there were no butter awards that year." Neal Courtney, who worked with Ames for years at the fair, remembers her as a very special person. "We have been friends for years, and she and her husband (Weldon Ames) both worked for the fair before he died, and she continued," Courtney said. "She was very into health foods and whenever I had something wrong with me I would call Ida Lou for advice. Sometimes it worked better than other times, but she always had an answer. All the memories I have of her are good ones." "Ida Lou was my mentor," said Maxine Guffey, who was appointed to head the home arts department in Ames' place. "I have very big shoes to fill. She wasn't at the fair at all last year, and we should have known then that she was very sick or she would have been there, she was so devoted to the fair. She had a dry wit and sense of humor but she was all business too, saying `If there's not a place for it, we can't show it.' She will be missed." "She had a beautiful smile," said Utah Vardell, who is also a member of the Fair Association. "I knew her for 28 years, and she had great in-depth perception. She could look at a situation and analyze it and figure things out. She had no children, but she believed the fair was about young people and children. She kept all the pictures and the history of the fair. We are losing a lot by losing her, her history and her knowledge." "I loved her more than anybody, she was my whole family," said Amy Beasley Harrell, her great-niece from the family home on Moores Lane. "She did everything for me. Everyone who knew her loved her." Presley said he considered a defining event, but known by few, of her life was caring for her mother. "She took care of her mother in her home in the last eight years of Mrs. Moores' life," Presley said. "Yet Ida Lou kept in touch with friends during those trying times, mostly by telephone, in the midst of the environmental and preservation issues she passionately cared about. Mrs. Moores lived to be 100, and I credit Ida Lou's loving care to having a lot to do with that." Ames' knowledge of her family history and that of the county led her to an interest in local history. A member of the Texarkana Pioneer Association, she had served as its secretary since 1977. She also served as chairman of the Bowie County Historical Commission for 10 years. She was appointed chairman of the Bowie County Sesquicentennial Committee in 1986 and chaired the committee to erect the James Bowie statue at the new courthouse. "Ida Lou cleaned and maintained Bowie County's historic old Harrison Chapel Cemetery in the present-day Red Springs community west of Texarkana," Presley said. "She personally went out and supervised the hard, hot work." Guffey said the Four States Fair plans to build a permanent home arts building that will be named the Ida Lou Ames Home Arts Building to stand on the fairgrounds. Memorials can be made to the fair. As seen in the Texarkana Gazette, 1999. ******************************************************************* USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. 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