Mary Ellen Trahan

Mary Ellen Trahan, dedicated educator, engaged citizen, loyal friend, and mentor to innumerable students and colleagues, entered into Heaven on May 6, 2026. Born in Port Arthur, TX to Hubert Lee Trahan and Enola Mae Rodrigue Trahan, Mary Ellen lived a wonderful life of service to her community and her country. She was a woman of exceptional faith and a proud Catholic.

Mary Ellen attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where she was involved in a myriad of activities, playing the trombone in the marching band and serving as vice president of her senior class.

It was also in high school that she had the opportunity to attend Texas Girls State, beginning her long and steadfast commitment to the program. During her time as a citizen in 1958, she was also selected to attend Girls Nation later that summer. She later returned to Texas Girls State to serve as a Senior Counselor, Associate Director of Education, and Co-Director.  She also served on staff at Girls Nation as Education Coordinator for multiple years where she transformed their education program. Her remarkable service to the Texas Girls State program spanned more than 60 years and brought her immense joy; she considered it a true honor to teach the values of citizenship and service to our country.

Mary Ellen was active in government outside of Girls State as well: regularly volunteering as a poll worker at her local polling place, encouraging others to attend precinct and school board meetings, along with staying informed about political topics of the day herself. 

Mary Ellen also enjoyed traveling and performing and was part of a group sponsored by the Department of Defense called Melody Maids. She was a member of this group, under the direction of Eloise Milam, from 1955-1959. With Melody Maids, Ellen visited military bases and performed for our troops across the country from New York City to Los Angeles, and abroad in the Caribbean, China, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. 

After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1959, she matriculated to St. Thomas University where she studied Sociology and History, earning a Bachelors of Arts in 1963. She would later go on to earn a Masters of Arts in Behavioral Sciences from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, demonstrating her dedication to lifelong learning. 

After several years working at MD Anderson (1963-1966) as a case worker, she began her over 31 year career in education, first working at St. Cecilia Catholic School as a 4th grade teacher. In 1968 she began her tenure with Clear Creek ISD, first at Clear Creek High School (1968-1972) where, in addition to teaching, she sponsored the Cavaliers Drill Team and helped coordinate the annual powder puff football game. In 1972, she was asked to assist with the opening of a new high school in the district, Clear Lake High School, and it was there where she would spend the remainder of her career until her retirement in 1997. At Clear Lake High School, she was a history teacher, department chair, senior class principal and senior class sponsor. As senior class sponsor, she oversaw graduation and the senior play, memories that she dearly cherished. 

Following her retirement, Mary Ellen didn’t stay idle for long.  She soon became president of the Clear Creek Retired Teachers Association and began working at Texas A&M University, training and supervising student teachers in the College of Education, proudly identifying as an Aggie. 

Mary Ellen loved sports, especially the Houston Oilers (she had season tickets) and the Houston Astros. She was also very athletic and played many sports, among them basketball, softball, tennis, and volleyball. She also officiated volleyball for several years, serving as the president of the Houston Area Volleyball Officials' Chapter (HAVOC) and in 1972 she was president of the State Volleyball Association. In this role, she had the opportunity to be on the team that officiated the State Volleyball Tournament. 

Deeply rooted in her Catholic faith, Mary Ellen joined the community of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word in Houston, TX shortly after college. Though she did not take her final vows, her faith remained a cornerstone throughout her life. She was a parishioner at St. Mary of the Expectation Catholic Church in League City where she served in several capacities, including as the high school CCD coordinator. She continued to pray the rosary and receive communion weekly, even after she was no longer able to attend Mass. 

Mary Ellen was preceded in death by her father, Hubert Lee Trahan and mother, Enola Mae Rodrigue Trahan. She is survived by her sister, Faye (Trahan) Wratislaw and brother-in-law, Fred Wratislaw; her nephew, Lee Wratislaw; her niece, Kim (Wratislaw) Pondrom, and her husband, Michael Pondrom; and her great-niece, Courtney Pondrom, and great-nephew, Jacob Pondrom.

A Funeral Mass to celebrate the life of Mary Ellen will be held on Thursday, July 9, 2026 at 10:00 AM at St. Mary of the Expectation Catholic Church, 1612 E Walker St, League City, TX 77573. The service will be livestreamed on the parish website at https://saintmcc.org/livestream. A private interment will take place at Greenlawn Memorial Park, 3900 Twin City Hwy, Groves, TX 77619. In honor of Mary, we encourage everyone to dress in red, white and blue.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial gifts be made in Mary Ellen’s name to Texas Girls State to honor her love of the program. Contribution information and links may be found at https://alatexas.org/contribute/ (please use password: CCpayment).

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary Ellen Trahan, please visit our floral store.