DAR dedicates insignia grave marker to member

Jonathan Hardin Chapter members gathered at Driver Cemetery in Freestone County Sunday, March 30, to dedicate a DAR Insignia Marker at the gravesite of member Nancy Pickett Rula.

Rula passed away Sept. 21, 2024. Regent Patti Gauntt and Honorary Regent/Chaplain NancyMcSwanegavetheDAR ritual dedicating the marker, which is pictured in the top left corner of the headstone. Nancy Rula’s niece, Ginger Pickett, closed the ceremony by singing “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

Many family members and friends attended the dedication, as well as board members from the Freestone County Museum on which Nancy served and volunteered for thirteen years. The museum board funded the marker purchase in Nancy’s memory.

While volunteering at the museum, Nancy compiled several booksonFreestoneCounty, which raised funds for the museum. Two of her books were accepted by the DAR Library in Washington DC: “The Year of 1890 in Freestone County” and “The Fairfield Recorder, 1900-1905 Obituary Book 1.”

Nancy joined Jonathan Hardin Chapter in 1998 where she served in several officer positions during her 26-year membership, including registrar. Nancy was a seasoned genealogist and enjoyed researching and preparing applications for prospective members, one of them being her niece and chapter member, Alisha Baize of Groesbeck. The last several years Nancy served as American Indian Chair for the chapter and shared her last American Indian Minute in May of 2024.