b'George Farenthold Randy Farenthold Vincent Farenthold Jimmy Farentholdb. 1915 Brussels, Belgium b. 1939 Corpus Christi b. 1956 Corpus Christi b. 1956 Corpus ChristiChristians, i.e. Rand Morgan Boulevard and MorganYork, in 1946, just a few years before two other would-Avenue. Their son and only child, George Randolphbe pioneers for women in politics, fellow Vassar grad-RandyFarenthold,wasbornin1939,morethanuates, Betty Noble (Turner), the first female mayor of two years before George returned to Europe to fightCorpus Christi, and Anne Legendre (Armstrong), the in World War II. In the basking years to follow, hefirst and only female ambassador to the United King-made the most of his in-laws business connectionsdom (along with a fistful of other firsts), all three of and thrived in the post-war boom economy. Georgeswhom made their mark starting in the Coastal Bend.marriage to Annie, however, was more of a bust, andFollowing in the oversized footsteps of her father ended in divorce in 1948. and grandfather, Sissy Tarlton attended the University Mary Francis Sissy Tarlton was born October 2,of Texas Law School, one of four women in the 1949 1926, to Benjamin Dudley Tarlton, Jr., and Catherinegraduating class, in which she earned a spot on the DoughteryBluntzeryes,thoseTarltonsandthosedeans list. A year later she married George Farenthold Bluntzers. Her father was a prominent local attorneyand they started a family in Corpus Christi that would known for his colorful courtroom style and ninety per- grow to six children, five from their marriage, and cent success rate at trial, and although he never ranRandy from Georges marriage to Annie Morgan. for political office, he was an effective power brokerTwinboys,VincentandJimmy,bornin1956, who managed congressional campaigns for Rep. Rich- were passed a genetic bleeding disorder that plagued ard M. Kleberg. Sissys grandfather, B.D. Dudley, Sr.,the Farentholds in Belgium for generations. George was the chief justice of the Texas Court of Appeals,almost died from blood loss during a routine tonsil-and the University of Texas law library is named afterlectomy as a child, and learned to rush for stitches any him, the institution where he was a professor. time he suffered anything but the mildest cut to the Sissys childhood and that of her siblings wouldskin. His aunt had bled to death during her menstru-bemarkedwithtragedywhenherthree-year-oldal cycle, and although the condition was not consid-brother, Benjamin, Jr., whom they called Sonny, swal- ered traditional hemophilia, Von Willebrand Disease, lowed a quarter and died from complications of thecaused by a missing blood clotting protein, was just surgery to remove it. Catherine would never be theas deadly. same, and Sissy filled in as matriarch of the householdIn the winter of 1960, twenty-year-old Randy was whenrequiredbyhermothersemotionalabsence.left to watch over his half-siblings, who were tucked With the perils of growing up too quickly, can comeaway in their upstairs bedrooms. Three-year-old Vin-the advantages, and Sissys capacity for tireless work,cent crept out of his room and into a hall bathroom, a high standard of excellence for herself, and a will- where the boy took a sleepy misstep on the childrens ingness to take on responsibilities into which she hadstool in front of the sink, causing it to give way and the not yet aged, led her to academic and professional suc- child to fall, head first, onto the tile floor below. Vin-cess in the face of odds stacked against her. cents life escaped him by the time he reached the hos-Sissy graduated from the prestigious, and thenpital, and Sissy would again say goodbye to a three- upper : Political conference at Vassar College, 1946all-womens,VassarCollegeofPoughkeepsie,Newyear-old boy whom she loved very much. lower : 1949 U.T. Law School Graduating Class TheCooasastalBend.c THE COASTAL BEND MATHE CGAOZINEASTAL BEND MAFEATURED: The StGAZINEories that MattMarch/April 2018ered 43TheC talBend.comom 73'