
DEPARTMENT PRESIDENT'S
CORNER
Jeanenne Lumpkin
Department of Texas VFW Auxiliary President
2022 - 2023
Jeanenne Lumpkin was elected and installed as Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Texas Auxiliary President at the Ninety Sixth Texas Auxiliary Convention held in Durant Oklahoma June 2022. She joined the Auxiliary in 2005 on the eligibility of her husband, Peyton who served in Vietnam from 1970-1971. Jeanenne is a life member of VFW Post Auxiliary 9182 in Katy, TX. She has held many positions at the Auxiliary, District and Department levels. As District 17 President she was named Outstanding District President in her Division for the Department of Texas for the 2012-2013 year. Jeanenne was elected Department Guard in 2017 and has held each line officer position since then. She has a life membership for the VFW National Home.
Jeanenne’s most memorable event since she joined the Auxiliary is when she planned and executed a trip to Washington DC for eleven WWII, ten Korean, four Vietnam and one Desert Storm veterans and seven wives from Post 9182. It was a three-day trip where they toured all War Memorials, visited Arlington Cemetery, other DC sights, the National Cathedral (where four of our WWII veterans carried communion down the aisle during the church service), and the Marine Museum at Quantico. Lodging was at Bolling AFB, and they dined at the Ft. Meyer and Bolling AFB Officer’s Clubs. All costs for the WWII and Korean veterans were funded by Katy Post 9182. The veterans expressed to Jeanenne many times that the trip was one of the highlights of their lives.
Jeanenne completed her first year of college and then after marriage she left college to help support Peyton as he finished his degree. Then the military called! She and Peyton moved many times during his 25 year Air Force career. At every location, she attended college. After seven colleges and universities and 11 years, she obtained her Business and Health Education degrees from Texas State University in San Marcos. She said upon graduation, “I will teach for the rest of my life and then some.” At the beginning of a tour for Peyton at Scott AFB in Illinois, she was approached to join Mary Kay Inc. Since it had taken awhile for her to obtain her degree, she was very reluctant to take on this opportunity. She said, “I will try Mary Kay for 6 months, and that will be it.” So much for going back to teaching!
Jeanenne is a Senior Sales Director with Mary Kay Inc. She has been with Mary Kay for 40 years earning 16 Mary Kay cars, many of them being Pink Cadillacs and presently has consultants in eight states. She has loved her Mary Kay career for two main reasons. She was able to be with her children for whatever event came up and was able to have a wonderful career wherever the Air Force took them.
Jeanenne was a military wife for 25 years and loved raising her sons in a military atmosphere. She now loves spending time with her family, gardening and reading.
Jeanenne and Peyton have two sons and daughters-in-law and three handsome and beautiful grandchildren.