Freestone County, Texas Obituaries, Memorials, and Death Notices Obituary of Nancy Pickett Rula Nancy Pickett Rula November 10, 1943 - September 21, 2024 Graveside services for Nancy Pickett Rula will be held on Thursday, September 26, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Driver Cemetery near Teague. Bro. Shane Winters will officiate. There will be no visitation. Nancy Kathleen Pickett Rula passed away peacefully on September 21, 2024, at the age of 80 in Groesbeck, TX with sister Gloria by her side. Nancy was born on November 10, 1943, to parents Asa Willis Pickett and Eula Mae Massey Pickett in Teague, TX. Nancy graduated from Teague High School in 1962. Shortly after graduating Nancy started working at Texas Telephone and Telegraph in Fairfield, TX. In 1967 she started working for Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. in Dallas, TX. She worked there until her retirement in 1991. She started in accounting as a ticket clerk and ended as an engineering clerk and supervisor. After retirement she worked for the U.S. Postal Service in various locations, including Fairfield, Teague and Bellmead. Nancy was passionate about genealogy and became an expert at finding records and family history. Since 1998 she was a very active member of the Jonathan Hardin Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution where she served in many capacities. DAR promotes historic preservation, education and patriotism. She volunteered and was Co-location coordinator of Wreaths Across America for Driver Cemetary in 2022 and 2023. She was committed to honoring all veterans with wreaths, but specifically those buried in Driver cemetery which included many of her ancestors. She was also the American Indian Chapter Chair and would research and speak about different American Indian Tribes at each meeting. Nancy was also a member of the Col Roger Q Mills Chapter of the UDC. She served in various positions and was the current president. Her special interest was identifying Confederate soldiers from Limestone, Freestone and Leon County. Nancy volunteered at the Freestone County Historical Museum and for 13 years was a board member. According to the museum, she was one of the best genealogical researchers to be found in this region and was one of the few left who could read microfilm. She was awarded the Historic Preservation Award by NSDAR. This award recognizes and honors an individual that has done recent remarkable work at the community level. This award was presented to her for the various books she had compiled about Freestone County and its history. Also, for the research she has given to the community about their heritage. The books include The Year of 1890 in Freestone County and The Fairfield Recorder 1900-1905 ObIt Book 1. Both of these books were accepted at the DAR Nation Library in Washington D.C. This is an honor as it is reserved only for books that are well-researched and documented. Nancy loved attending rodeos and didn’t miss a Teague rodeo in years, if ever. She also loved watching nephew Cullen and wife Mandy’s Pickett Pro Rodeo, on the Cowboy Channel. Nancy was proud of the rodeo successes of her grandson, Scott Kormos, and granddaughter, Kelli Smart. She played volleyball in leagues and in 2021 was on a team that won a bronze medal at the Huntsman World Senior Games. You could often find her supporting the Teague Lions volleyball team. She also participated in and had fond memories of the highly competitive, (yet not highly skillful) volleyball games at the Pickett family reunions. Nancy and husband Mike were married March 30, 1966. Nancy never had any children but was loved dearly by her nieces and nephews. She was called Aunt Nancy, Nancy K. or Fancy Nancy. She loved teaching them to play 42. Nancy is survived by stepson, Michael Rula and wife Suzan of Athens; grandson, Scott Kormos and wife Laine of Teague; granddaughter, Kelli Smart and husband Corbin of Teague; two brothers, Joe Pickett and wife Betty of Teague, and Willis Pickett and wife Helen of Mexia; one sister, Gloria Davis and husband Richard of Groesbeck; great- grandchildren, Kade, Lawson, Letty, Stetson and Stran all of Teague, and many nieces and nephews. Nancy was preceded in death by her husband, Mike Rula; her parents, Asa and Eula Mae Pickett; half-brother, Eddie G. Montgomery; one brother, Asa E. Pickett; one sister, Lajuan Richardson; and niece Karen Chasteen. Pallbearers are Chad Baize, Chad Davis, Scott Kormos, Kenneth Richardson, Cullen Pickett, and Justin Pickett. Graveside Service: Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Driver Cemetery - Private Road 940 - Teague, TX 75860 ====================================================== Freestone County Historical Museum - May 25, 2024 issue We awarded a certificate of appreciation for Nancy Rula’s retirement from serving on the museum board on May 24; however, Nancy stated, "I am not retiring from my volunteer service in the genealogy research and book writing department. I am only retiring from serving on the board of directors." She served on the Freestone County Historical Museum board since 2011 and as secretary since 2015. Many of her accomplishments have been making the historic Fairfield Recorders and Teague Chronicle newspapers available in book format for those doing family or local historical research. These books were known as A History of Freestone County, Its Communities, Its People: Phase I, II, and III and were several hundred pages each. She spent countless hours pouring over microfilm transcribing newspaper articles from 1876-1889 in the Recorders and from 1906-1907 in the Chronicles. Nancy also wrote several books for the museum which include the Fairfield Recorder Obituaries from 1900-1905, and Fairfield Recorder Obits from 1906-1910, The “Boll Weevil Railroad” Book (from the Teague Chronicle articles, which records the history of the railroad in Freestone County), and The Year of 1890 in Freestone County. She took no money for her efforts and all of the profits were completely donated to the organizations involved. Nancy is also a very willing volunteer helping untold individuals. She is always available to help those who are searching for family genealogical information in the archives of the museum. Nancy gives of her time and talent selflessly researching for others, hours on end; not only in the museum archives, but in the county clerk’s office as well. She is a great blessing to our community. The Jonothan Hardin DAR Chapter awarded Nancy the Historical Preservation Award in May of 2021. Many of Nancy's books were accepted into the National DAR Library for their historical content. Nancy is being presented her certificate by Brad Pullin, Vice Chairman of the Freestone County Historical Museum board. [The contents of this was reprinted in "Freestone County - The Times" - May 31, 2024 issue]