Funeral Saturday for ‘First Lady of West Texas’

Nelda Laney, 71, of Hale Center, affectionately known as “the first lady of West Texas” in recognition of the decade her husband served as speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, died Wednesday morning, Aug. 24, 2016.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at First United Methodist Church in Lubbock.

The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26, at the Venue on Broadway, 2202 Broadway, in Lubbock. Interment will be Tuesday at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Combest Family Funeral Home, 2210 Broadway, in Lubbock.

“Our hearts go out to Pete and the rest of the Laney family on the passing of Nelda Laney, a true treasure of West Texas,” U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer said Thursday. “She served Texas with honor and distinction. Nelda’s legacy of love will live on through her children and grandchildren, and she will be remembered for her many contributions to the Texas State Capitol, Texas Tech University, and Hale Center. Our state has lost a great Texan, and Dana and I lost a friend.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, added, “Cecilia and I would like to offer our deepest condolences to former Texas House Speaker Pete Laney following the death of his wife, Nelda Laney. Nelda was a beloved educator, parent and grandparent who impacted the lives of many Texans and will be missed dearly. Nelda’s presence will continue to be felt through her tremendous contributions to her fellow Texans, especially in her efforts restoring the Texas Capitol and preserving our state’s cherished history. I ask all Texas to join me in keeping the entire Laney family in their thoughts and prayers."

The former Nelda McQuien, she was a 1961 graduate of Plainview High School, and received her degree from Texas Tech in 1965. Following graduation, she served as a classroom teacher and later substitute teacher at Hale Center.

While a student at Texas Tech, she met her future husband, James E. “Pete” Laney, who laster served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1973-2007, and was speaker from 1993-2003.

During that time, Nelda Laney was co-chair of the Texas Capitol Fund Drive, which was charged with raising private funds for furnishing the newly restored and enlarged Texas Capitol, as well as vice-chair of the Texas Capitol Restoration Celebration. In connection with those efforts, in 1996 she created a series of collectible Texas Capitol Christmas ornaments. After designing the Texas Capitol ornaments for seven years, she in 2004 affiliated with Keep Texas Beautiful where she initiated that organization’s tremendously popular commemorative ornament series. Recognizing her unsurpassed talents, more than a dozen entities from throughout Texas benefited from her artistry as she designed scores of different commemorative ornaments for a lengthy list of worthy causes.

“The Texas House is a family, and Nelda Laney took great care of that family for many years,” House Speaker Joe Straus said in offering is condolences. “Nelda was a woman of incredible wit and spirit who was completely committed to the Texas Capitol and all who work there. It is largely because of her dedication that today the Capitol is more beautiful and welcoming than ever.”

Through the years, Nelda Laney embraced a variety of causes. She served as national president of the Texas Tech Alumni Association and chaired the Merket Alumni Center expansion. She served on the boards of The Texas Book Festival, Friends of Texas Library and Archives, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Greater Texas Community Partners.

She was Woman of the Year for both Plainview and Hale Center. Among her many other honors include the Lauro F. Cavazo Award from the Texas Tech Alumni Association, Texas Tech College of Education Distinguished Alumni, inaugural honoree of the Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs’ Women of Achievement Award, Lifetime Member of Girl Scouts, Future Homemakers of America Texas Hall of Fame and Star of Texas Preservation Award for her work on the Texas Capitol restoration.

She died after battling an inoperable brain tumor.

Survivors include her husband of 53 years, her mother Helen of Plainview, children KaLyn Laney of Austin, Jamey and Ronald Phillips of Lubbock and J Pete and Melonie Laney of Austin, and six grandchildren.