DeAnna Shimek

DeAnna Shimek, 48, of Beaumont, died Wednesday, November 23, 2022. She was born on October 24, 1974, to Judith Ann Steininger and Charles Edward Gresham, in Beaumont.

DeAnna was known for her infectious, contagious laughter and a smile that seemed to permeate light.  She had a way of making everything better with no effort at all.  Those that truly, deeply knew and loved her had a privilege that they never had to earn.  When she loved you, she loved you with the kind of ferocity and integrity that God intended.  She knew her faults and owned them freely.  She knew her weaknesses and recognized them for what they were.  She was also stubborn and frustrating at times, but if you had the gift of being close enough to her, none of that mattered.  She was your best friend, your confidant and whatever you needed her to be at the exact moment you needed her most.  Just a glimpse of her incredible smile was all that you needed to get through it.  She had a spirit about her that cannot be defined.  It was uplifting and peaceful. It was a reminder that you really were going to be okay.  She tried to see the best in everyone and to find a silver lining, even when the rest of us had given up.

DeAnna lived for her children.  She lived to love them, support them and do her best to guide them.  She was the not the kind of mother to not recognize their faults or deny their wrong-doings.  She was the kind of mother to take any measures necessary to steer them to the right path.  She was always a best friend, a nurturer, a teacher, a counselor, a referee, a coach, a peace officer, an emergency responder, and a prison warden.   Whatever she and life needed them to learn, she was insistent upon them understanding how to navigate it and how to come out a better and more equipped adult on the other side of it.  She didn’t do it from a distance.  She was in the trenches.  She didn’t need protection.  She needed them to know they were cloaked in God’s armor and she was in front of them, willing to take their pain.  She was completely relentless in her love for her children, regardless of what that meant at the time.  Her grandchildren were a direct line to her heart.  She was “Dee Dee” at all times, and she was the best “Dee Dee” ever.

DeAnna was more things to her husband than can ever be expressed.  She was at the very least, the very best of him.  25 years of marriage and unimaginable personal losses and hardships built something that most couples can only pretend to fathom.  DeAnna was so much more than a “soul mate” or “best friend.”  She was so much more than a “lover” or a “better half.”  She was not a Facebook Post because she did something out of the ordinary that you had to brag about, just to make the world think you had something to be envious of.  She was the center of it all.  She was the solid, silent strength that held you together through the worst of it.  She was what we all pray to find in a partner.  She was God’s design.  She was perfection.

DeAnna struggled with severe illness in the last few years of her life.  She refused to be a victim to anything, but in reality, suffered from health issues that kept her from enjoying all the things that God had blessed her with.  We are grateful that she is where she will be at rest and know peace with the Lord and all of her family that she has lost along the way.

Survivors include her mother, Judy Thurman and her husband, George, of Vidor; spouse, Will Shimek of Beaumont; children, Brooke Womack and her husband, Seth, of Nederland; Blake Shimek and his wife, Diana, of Beaumont; and Bree Shimek of Nederland; grandchildren, Emma Womack and Parker Shimek; siblings, Dean Gresham and his wife, Suzie, of Vidor and Brandon Thurman and his wife, Hailey, of Winnie; and numerous nieces, nephews, loved ones and friends throughout the years.

She is preceded in death by her father, Charles Gresham.

A gathering of Mrs. Shimek’s family and friends will be from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m., Sunday, December 4, 2022, at Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont. Her cremation arrangements will be handled through Broussard’s Crematorium, Beaumont.

We love you deeply, DeAnna.  To say you will be missed, does not begin to describe the loss we feel.  Your children and grandchildren will be constant reminders to us all of the sacrifices you made to cover them in your love and support.  We feel immeasurably blessed to have loved and to have been loved by you.  We will never be the same.  Rest in peace, and know that we loved you more than you could have ever possibly known.  Your love and light will never be extinguished, just passed along for those of us who could never have truly earned it enough.