Brittie Elma Neill Holster

On July 4, 2015, at the age of 92, Brittie Elma Neill Holster passed away peacefully at home in Midland, Texas. Brittie was born January 31, 1923 in Austin, Texas, the daughter of Edmond Hood Neill and Jessie Florrie Cox Neill. She was named after her mother's brother, Brittie Cox, and her father's sister, Elma Neill Merryman. Her father was a printer working for the Austin American-Statesman newspaper.

Due to her father's illness, the family moved to Big Spring, Texas to live on the Cox family farm in 1932. Her revered father, Ed, lost his battle with tuberculosis when Brittie was just 11 years old. Widowed at the age of 37, Florrie Neill and her three young children rallied around the Big Spring Cox family.

Brittie graduated from Big Spring High School in 1939, where she played on the Steers girls' basketball team, in one game getting a lower tooth knocked out. She went to Texas Women's University in Denton, and then on to the University of Texas, where she was glad to be back in her old hometown of Austin. Brittie planned to get a B.S. degree in chemistry, a very rare career track for a woman in those days. In addition to her studies at UT, she continued her athletic pursuits, being named one of the best women swimmers at the University, and playing city-league women's basketball alongside her sister-in-law Mildred Neill.

In order to assist the family she withdrew from U.T. in 1941 and relocated to Midland, finding work with Yeager and Armstrong, independent oil operators. Back in Big Spring, her mother, Florrie Cox Neill, died at the age of 45. By the time she was 19, Brittie had lost both precious parents.

In Midland, Brittie found a room to rent from a recently widowed lady named Gladys Reid Holster, who happened to have two sons serving in the armed forces, one a dashing Air Force pilot named David Holster (who would later become Midland's postmaster for many years) and his older brother Russell Reid Holster, who was over in Europe fighting against the Nazis with the famed 36th "Texas" Infantry Division.

While the war went on and on, the ever-industrious Brittie took full advantage of Midland's opportunities, including playing pitcher, catcher and third-base on a city-league women's softball team, and being named an all-star.

After slogging with the 36th Division through North Africa, Italy, France and Germany, First Lieutenant Russell Holster came home after the war as one of Midland's most highly decorated hometown soldiers, and was anxious to meet this gal who was living with his mother and sending him letters and cookies. It was love at first sight. They married in 1946.

Brittie and Russell had a son, Russell Reid Holster Jr., in 1952, and a daughter, Terri Lyn, in 1955. In addition to being the most popular mom on the block, Brittie continued her professional career, putting in stints at the Ralph Lowe Estate, Tom Brown, Inc., and with W.B. Yarborough and the King Ranch. She also operated her own book-keeping business with a variety of commercial clients, including the popular Carousel clothing store. Somehow, she also found time to serve as a substitute teacher in the Midland public school district.

Through her seven decades in Midland, Brittie was active at both St. Luke's Methodist Church and First United Methodist, En Amie book review club, Tejas Garden Club, and several bridge clubs. She supported Midland Community Theater, the Midland-Odessa Symphony, Midland College, Meals on Wheels and numerous other civic programs. She was an excellent painter specializing in hill country, West Texas and New Mexico landscape scenes. She studiously researched genealogy, tracing her Neill line back to the glorious kings of Ireland, the Cox British line back over 1000 years, and identifying her legendary Cherokee ancestors of the mid-1700s. Brittie also never tired of studying the Bible, as well as books about the Bible and Christian philosophy.

Like the rest of the family, Brittie never met an animal she didn't like. She dutifully cared for a procession of wonderful dogs, grand-dogs and grand-parrots, and made sure the backyard birds and turtles and neighborhood cats never went hungry or thirsty. With Russell, and sometimes solo, she traveled widely around the world, often chasing after her two far-flung children in Houston, Nashville, Los Angeles, Seattle-Tacoma, Singapore, Norway, Cairo and Abu Dhabi. She made it over to visit the Holy Land and Egypt in 1994. As recently as last September, she enjoyed a 1700-mile drive through the Pacific Northwest with her son, and spent Christmas on the River Walk in San Antonio.

She immensely enjoyed sharing time with her many wonderful friends in the area. Her calendar was usually filled with bridge parties, evenings at the theater or concert, church or Sunday School events, lunches, brunches or other social gatherings with these fine folks. She was a decades-long member, and sometimes Sunday School teacher, of the Homer Fort Senior Class at First Methodist.

She was preceded in death by her husband Russell Reid Holster, her brothers Charles Hamilton Neill, George Hardin Neill and Dennie Hood Neill, her sister Bea Neill Golladay, her mother-in-law Gladys Holster Gray, her sister-in-law Mildred Bettis Neill, her brother-in-law David E. Holster and sister-in-law Beverly Holster of Midland. She is survived by her son, Russell Reid Holster Jr. of Gig Harbor, WA, her daughter, Terri Lyn Holster Grassbaugh and son-in-law, David Grassbaugh of Lake Conroe, TX, her granddaughter, Emily Lyn Grassbaugh Powell and husband Brooks, grandson William Neill Grassbaugh, her sisters-in-law Gay Neill of Dallas and Cleatie Neill of Garland, as well as numerous beloved cousins, nieces and nephews.

Brittie Neill Holster was a grand, Texas lady, loving, giving, smart, moral, brash, courageous, resilient, stubborn, strong to the end, rising from repeated tragedy and loss, insisting on integrity in all of her dealings, and offering faithful allegiance to her family, friends and causes dear to her big heart. She will be greatly missed.

Viewing will be Friday, July 10, from 6-8pm at Ellis Funeral Home, 801 Andrews Highway, Midland. Memorial service will be held at 11am Saturday, July 11, at First United Methodist Church, 300 N Main St. in Midland, followed by a graveside service at Resthaven Memorial Park, Midland.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in Brittie's honor to the I-20 Wildlife Preserve in Midland (www.I20WildlifePreserve.org), SPCA PETS SNAP of Montgomery County, TX (www.spcaofmc.com), or a cause dear to your heart. Thanks to Home Hospice of Midland.

Online condolences can be offered at www.ellisfunerals.com