GOD & TEXAS: Walter and Ella Fondren

Life started rough for Ella. Born in Kentucky in 1880, she and her farming family soon moved to Corsicana, Texas. At 15, her father died and she quit school to help her mother raise her six younger siblings. For needed income, their home became a boarding house for workers in nearby oil fields.

Life started rough for Walter, too. Born in 1877 in Tennessee to struggling farmers, Walter was orphaned by age 10. To survive, he worked in farming until 1897, when he heard about the discovery of oil in Navarro County, Texas. Starting as a trainee, Walter became a drilling rig helper. Strapped for cash, he could only afford a room at Ella’s boarding house.

After several years of courtship, Walter William Fondren married Ella Florence Cochrum on Valentines Day, 1904. This marriage produced one of the wealthiest families in Texas history. Even today their generous philanthropy is utilized in schools, hospitals, and churches.

Not long after they married, the Fondrens relocated to Houston. Ella, who was always wise with financial investments, had cash left over from the move. She purchased stock in the fledging oil company Texaco, Inc. and eventually made millions. But this was only the beginning.

Starting as an oilfield roughneck, Walter became an expert in the burgeoning oil industry. In 1917, Walter joined future governor Ross Sterling and four other men to form the Humble Oil and Refining Co. That company is now Exxon USA. Fondren served as director in both Humble and Exxon, and helped develop other oilfields in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

In later life, Walter was a trustee and member of the executive committee of Southern Methodist University, and a member of the general missionary council of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He also served as director of the Houston YMCA, and as vice president of the Houston National Bank of Commerce.

Together Walter and Ella donated millions of dollars to scholarships and benevolent organizations like the Fondren Lectures in Religious Thought. They also funded the creation of the libraries at Southern Methodist University and Rice University. Further, the Fondrens provided sizeable gifts to the Texas Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, and the Houston Institute of Religion.

Being committed Christians, they were members of St. Pauls United Methodist Church Houston. Many of their charitable gifts benefited churches and religious organizations that provided a strong witness for Christ. One of their favored institutes was Scarritt College for Christian Workers, that was established in Nashville, Tennessee, to train missionaries for the Methodist Church.

After Walter died in 1939, Ella continued to give generously to various organizations. Few knew that every Christmas, Ella would visit a children’s orphanage in Waco carrying a large bag of silver dollars. She would personally give these treasures to the children while showing her concern for their physical and spiritual welfare.

Having overcome a rough start in life, the Fondrens understood the principle in Acts 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

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