In a room set aside to honor the dead, Gladys Hogan celebrated something she thought she would never live to see.

The day finally came when the Hogan Funeral Home, a Brenham landmark for the last 94 years, became part of Texas history.

Hogan could not hide her happiness as her wish finally came true.

“Pride and of course, thankfulness.Thankful I’m here to see it,” Hogan said.

The marker, awarded by the Texas Historical Commission, tells part of the story of how Brenham’s first African American owned funeral home opened its doors to Buffalo Soldiers and other blacks.

But it is there where so many have been laid to rest and where that history seems most alive.  The Hogan Funeral Home Cemetery is a place of sanctuary for those who couldn’t find it anywhere else.

Sgt. Major James Williams represents the Buffalo Soldiers.

“It’s more than pride for me to be up here and say something about this historic family,” Sgt. James said.

The Hogans are a family with generations of service, passed from founder C.H. Hogan to his son Booker T, who died in 1986. Since then, Booker T’s 92-year-old widow and other family members have kept the tradition alive, earning them the first and only state recognition of the contributions of African American’s in Brenham.

“And I think we can certainly look on this as a step forward,” Brenham’s Mayor Milton Tate said.

But there was one thing missing from this almost perfect day.

“I wish my husband had been here.  It would have meant so much to him,” Hogan said.

And although Gladys Hogan’s husband could not witness the historic moment, the community did. It meant as much to them as it would have meant for Gladys' husband.