| 10/01/09 06:40 AM |
#2382
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Carrol Reneau (Jeffers)
John Abram MaGee
John Abram MaGee, 85, of Lake Jackson, Texas, passed away on Wednesday, September 30, 2009.
Services are pending with the Turner family at Freeport-Lakewood Funeral Home.
Published October 1, 2009
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Magee remembered for his mentorship
By Katlynn Lanham
The Facts
Published October 1, 2009
LAKE JACKSON — John Magee was a true music man who enjoyed sharing his passion with others.
Magee, Brazosport ISD’s choral director from 1947-83, died Wednesday after a brief illness, said his daughter, Donna Lunsford.
“He was a great father,” Lunsford said.
She and her brother, John Magee Jr., have some of their greatest memories when learning about music from their father, the siblings said.
“I think music itself just makes a better person. It makes people more sensitive, betters them spiritually, both within the context of a lot of the music we do and the music itself,” Magee told The Facts when he announced his retirement in December 1982. “It's an intangible thing. … It helps them appreciate the — quote — better things in life.”
John Magee put the Brazosport ISD choirs on the map, building strong programs at both the district’s high schools, said Jerry Crummel, current director of bands at Brazosport High School.
“He was a legend among choral educators here,” Crummel said.
That respect was shown when the performance center at Brazosport High School, refurbished in 2006, was named for him. He was instrumental in bringing the center to Freeport, so calling it the John Magee Performance Center was fitting, said Becky Gore-LaRoche, a former student of Magee’s who now is head nurse at Brazosport ISD.
“He had an impact on his students that was immeasurable,” Gore-LaRoche said.
Since moving to the area in 1947, he brought the gift of music to more than 10,000 students in Brazosport ISD and the community, she said.
Former students continued to keep in touch with him, Lunsford said.
When Magee joined the staff at Brazosport High School, he also took over the Brazosport Community Choir and the First Baptist Church choir of Velasco. He retired in 1983 after teaching at both Brazosport ISD high schools, but he continued to be involved in area music events.
In Gore-LaRoche’s music room at home, she has one of John Magee’s favorite quotes painted on the wall, “For I am music, the instrument of God.”
Magee not only taught music, he had a talented singing voice of his own, John Magee Jr. said. His father enjoyed singing classical music and sang for many weddings and funerals, he said.
Though he will be remembered for his dedication to bringing music to the area, Magee’s family also will remember him as a highly involved father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
He took his grandchildren horseback riding, fishing and always made sure to spend time with them, Lunsford said. This summer, he took his great-grandson fishing, she said.
Magee is survived by his wife, Agnes Davis Magee, two children, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
A Brazosport and Brazoswood A Cappella Choir Reunion was planned for Dec. 12 and 13. Organized as a way for John Magee’s former students to see him again, the reunion choir has performed together three previous times. The reunion performance features Handel’s “Messiah” and was planned to be under the Magee’s direction.
However, Lunsford is unsure if the performance will continue. To get up-to-date information about the reunion, go to www. brazosportreunions.com.
“There are a lot of people in this community who will mourn the loss of this man,” Gore-LaRoche said.
Funeral services are pending with the Turner family at Freeport-Lakewood Funeral Home in Freeport.
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