Carol Louise (Figueira) Koenig Obituary
Carol Louise Koenig nee Figueira, 86 of Rosharon, TX, a long-time resident of New Ulm, Texas passed away April 9, 2023, in Pearland, TX. Born on July 12, 1936, in Houston, TX was the youngest of four children born to Louise Karcher and Carroll Leon Figueira. She was a member of First United Methodist Church in Industry, TX.
Being the baby isn’t always easy, like the time when her sister Kay let her fall into the outhouse and didn’t tell anyone. Though that was her place in line, she was fortunate to experience the love that made her special. When times got hard for her newly divorced mother, Carol was sent to live with her grandparents Walter & Cornelia “Neely” (Tuck) Karcher, because as she put it, “they wanted me.” She thrived in a loving home without modern comforts and barely enough to eat at times. Her days were filled with helping around the house and accompanying Grandad and “ol’ meat in the pot” on his daily hunt for anything they could shoot or catch. She played in the street with other children in the neighborhood that were just like her even though they looked different. The important lessons of a religious upbringing were instilled by her grandparents and reinforced by the necessity of working and playing together where things like race and ethnicity didn’t matter. Life was hard, and no one was spared, so people just naturally took care of one another. At night she would dream of a fancier world where she rode her winged horse named Pe-Gas-Us. In her mind, she had the most wonderful childhood imaginable. It was later, when attending St Agnes Academy, that she learned she had grown up poor. But as her grandmother would say, ‘You can have nothing, and yet possess everything!’
Carol graduated from Jeff Davis Highschool 1955. She attended the University of Houston while working in the mail room, and later as a typist, at American General Life Insurance Company in downtown Houston. Early in 1958, she opened the door to some “Country Bumpkin” who had come to visit one of her roommates. However, fate intervened, and that bumpkin, H. W. “Buddy” Koenig, would later ask her to marry him. They planned to marry and honeymoon in Galveston, Texas, over the July 4th holiday that same year. They got the license and blood test, then drove down to Galveston on July 4th. After striking out to find a Methodist Minister or a Baptist Preacher, they moved on to contacting any Justice of the Peace. It came down to the very last justice on the list, but they still had to convince him that they were not marrying on a whim. That began her new life with the only man she ever loved for the next 64 years 9 months and 5 days.
A sweet lady with a strong spine, she was up to the task of raising a raucous family. Although Buddy and her four boys had her outnumbered, she was moored by faith, filled with wisdom, and armed with a strong BS meter. To keep order, she would occasionally tell her boys, Stephen Glen, Robby, William, and sometimes her adopted son Jorge, “I know where you live, and you have to sleep sometime,” adding that menacing look no one could misinterpret. A very smart cookie, she truly was the woman behind the man. When Buddy struggled, Carol lent her shoulder and gave loving encouragement to always keep trying. However, she also knew the value of strong medicine, and when to administer it. After a rough day of knocking on doors at the start of Buddy’s insurance career, he came home and told her that he was done and that he would never go back. She turned to him, smiled that little smile, and said, "That’s OK, the world needs ditch diggers too.” The rest, as they say, is history.
Carol & Buddy escaped the city in 1985 after buying a ranch in Austin County. The two became county folk again, and Carol took a new role as the Lead Cow. They were active in the Beefmaster Cattle Raisers Association where they met some interesting characters. Carol named all her new babies. She named her heifers after friends or family and even memorialized her American General coworkers by naming their first cows, Vicey, Verna, Lida, Lou, Cleonida, Clotilde, & Roxy. Ever the pragmatist, she named all bull calves Cash Flow.
After Buddy threw his hat in the political ring as a candidate for Austin County Republican Party Chairman, Carol became his campaign manager, communications director, advertising agency, and all-around support staff. She was active in the Republican Party on a county and state level and was a huge part of many successful events including the Grand Ol’ Picnics hosted at Der Koenig Ranch.
Her pure love and never-ending pride were felt by all those who were around her. She will forever live in our hearts, and the lessons she taught will be with us in every step we take. Fly Carol fly, your job on earth is done.
She is preceded in death by her parents Leon Figueira and Louise Karcher Figueira; sister, Ruby Kay Seale; brothers: Robert Leon Figueira, and James Walter Figueira.
Carol leaves behind her husband of 64 years, H.W. Buddy Koenig, Jr.; sons: Stephen Vincent Koenig, (Usha), Kenneth Glen Koenig, (Celestine), Robert Scot Koenig, and Henry Will Koenig III, (Kellie); grandchildren: Natalie Flaherty, (James), Kara Reyes, (Justin), Stephen Vincent Koenig II, (Rachel), Joseph Henry Koenig, Hailey Keeling, (Daniel Guerrette), Garrett Scot Koenig, and Palma Louise Koenig; great-grandchildren: Conor Flaherty, Cara Flaherty, Aine Flaherty, and Ryan Reyes.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to Tunnel to Towers Foundation providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and by building specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. http://www.t2t.org
