Odette Terrel des Chenes

Odette Terrel des Chênes, 84 of Austin, Texas passed away peacefully on Monday, July 11 with family and friends at her side. Her end came quickly and at a time when she was happy and totally at peace with life. She was born on October 10th, 1926 in Paris, France, the only child of Elizabeth (Saroukhanoff) and Alfred de Brunière. With her mother’s second marriage in 1949, she gained a second father in Elbridge Gale. After her childhood in Paris, she was educated in England, Argentina, and New York where she received her degree from Parsons School of Design in 1945. She traveled and lived in many places throughout the world, notably including New York City, Greenwich, Palm Beach, Dallas, Savannah, San Francisco, Mexico City and Austin. She married William E. Benjamin II in 1947 with the marriage ending in divorce in 1960. She was later married to Guy Terrel des Chênes in 1980. Mr. Terrel des Chênes preceded her in death in 1990.

Odette was an artist, an illustrator and a designer. In her early career she designed fabrics, illustrated for magazines and books, including The Enchanted Garden, 1948. In the 1960s she created the Odette de Brunière line of fashions and subsequently, for many years marketed her designs on porcelain through the Odette de Brunière Company. Her work was collected by Presidents and celebrities alike. She was a woman of great and memorable beauty, charm and style, and will always be cherished and remembered by her friends and family for her warmth, generosity, humor, devoted love and joie de vivre. In recent years, she devoted herself to her volunteer work with Communities for Recovery that provided a wonderful and rewarding channel for her compassionate and generous nature.

She is survived by her son William E. Benjamin III (Joanne) Palm Beach; daughter Beatrice E. Benjamin, Woodacre, CA; daughter Alexandra R. Benjamin (Gus Foster), Taos; son Christopher M. Benjamin (Hilary Higdon), Austin; grandchildren Renata Benjamin (Andrew Swinick), William E. Benjamin IV, Lucas Sharp, Wynston Vose and Parke Benjamin; great-grandchildren Roman and Sophie Swinick; brother Gordon Gale (Angela); and many other beloved relatives and friends.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to Communities for Recovery in Austin (www.cforr.org).

Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78705 – (512) 452-8811