At age 50, Rene Flatt decided to go to college. She enrolled at Eastern New Mexico University and earned a degree in English and communications. An avid poet, Rene has won multiple awards for her poetry. [see Shoes poem below]

Raised in Ballinger, Texas, Rene grew up alongside her twin sister Lorene; twin brothers Melvin and Elvin; and sisters Naomi and Lavoy. Her mother, Bertha, stayed busy raising six children who were born within five and a half years, while her father, Henry, farmed cotton on the family land.

In high school, Rene was active in basketball and running. After graduation, she married her high school sweetheart, “S.K.,” whom she met at a skating rink. 

Shortly after their wedding, S.K. was drafted into the U.S. Army and served 27 months in combat during WWII. During this time, Rene lived near her family and held various jobs. When S.K. returned home, the couple moved to New Mexico, where he worked in the oil industry, before eventually returning to Texas to farm corn, cotton, and maize. It was there they raised their children Ilene and Collin. 

Rene and S.K. retired at 55 and settled in Paris, Texas, where they ranched and sold cattle. Rene enjoyed traveling, especially to Colorado for waterskiing and snow skiing. Today, she loves watching the Kansas City Chiefs and Texas Tech Red Raiders. She is the proud grandmother of two, and great grandmother of five. 

State Representative Brian Murray attended Rene’s recent birthday party, “We were thrilled to help Rene celebrate her 102nd birthday,” he said after the event. 

Shoes

By Rene Flatt

As I packed each box on moving day

I tried to throw some things away, 

But not so simple is the task,

To discard memories from one’s past. 

The many shoes standing there

Held memories beyond compare. 

Laminated baby shoes from early years

Keep me smiling through my tears. 

And how could I forget 

The white boots I wore the day we met!

There are the pumps I wore the day

That we gave our daughter away. 

And your Army boots that signified 

Your love of country till the day you died. 

They are only shoes – I told myself

As I placed each box back on the shelf.

Source: State Rep. Brian Murray, taken from The Buzz newsletter