Audrey Traugott Dearing

Audrey Dearing passed away peacefully from natural causes on November 7, 2024. She was born Audrey Ilene Traugott in San Antonio on September 27, 1929, to Ella Bartels Traugott and Arthur C. Traugott. Growing up in San Antonio, she was considered a tomboy because of her love of active pursuits including roller skating. A good student, Audrey graduated from Edison High School and was accepted to Rice University. When family matters required her to return to San Antonio, she completed her associates degree at San Antonio College in 1949.

It was in San Antonio she met her future husband, Harry Leonard Dearing. They were married in 1950 and began their life together in San Antonio. Leonard’s job with Western Auto took them to Bay City and Corpus Christi before they settled in Leonard’s hometown of Austin. They purchased their first home in north Austin and settled into family life. While in Austin, they had two children, Denise and Harry Jr.

Leonard’s love of rural life led them to search for acreage in the country. They found a home on acreage between Pflugerville and Manor and moved there in 1958. Audrey was especially pleased that the land was in the Pflugerville school district because of the excellent reputation of the schools. They became members of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Pflugerville. Audrey participated as an active member of the church for the remainder of her life. Their third child, Linda, came along several years after the move to Pflugerville.

The farm was continuously improved over the years starting with the construction of a new house. The family raised livestock of all kinds including cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, rabbits and even a few guinea fowl and goats. There was always a large cast of family pets including dogs and cats with the appearance of wild animals like racoons, rabbits, owls, and opossums. To say Audrey loved animals would be an understatement.

Audrey went back to work in Austin for a technology company, Tracor, after the birth of their youngest child. Over the course of her career, she was placed in positions of increasing authority, ultimately joining the company executive ranks as corporate secretary. Long after her time with Tracor, Audrey remained dear friends with colleagues from her tenure.

While excelling professionally, Audrey also found time to serve in the community. She participated in the Pflugerville Parent Teachers Association as well as the local 4-H club. As a leader in the 4-H club she helped with a number of activities including sewing and livestock shows. She and Leonard were fixtures at the Austin Livestock Show during the years that their children participated and for some years afterward.

In the early 1980s, Audrey felt that Pflugerville should have its own library. Never one to shy away from a project worth doing, she rolled up her sleeves and went to work. Audrey helped to found The Friends of the Pflugerville Library, and over the last 45 years, the nonprofit has grown Pflugerville’s library into a modern, accessible community center.

Audrey with her husband Leonard also worked to establish The Pflugerville Education Foundation, a foundation to support education in the Pflugerville area. After Leonard’s death in 2007, Audrey continued to work with the foundation for many years.

Pflugerville, given its proximity to Austin, grew rapidly in the 1990s and early 2000s. With a group of friends, Audrey became concerned about the preservation of the history of Pflugerville as it changed from a rural community focused on agriculture to a thriving suburb in one of the fastest growing areas in the United States. The group has published four books that chronicle the history of Pflugerville from its founding to the present. This group, consisting of Audrey, Vernagene Mott, Pamela Stephenson and Lois Shrout, named themselves the “Pflugerville History Diggers” and have created a vibrant record of the history of Pflugerville.

Audrey received a number of awards in her lifetime. She was recognized by the Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. Audrey and Leonard were recognized with the naming of Dearing Elementary School in the Pflugerville school district.

Audrey’s professional accolades and community projects are a testament to her indelible belief in the importance of hard work and community. Audrey’s family will remember her for her ability and desire to do anything she set her mind to - and she set her mind to a lot! A woman of many talents and interests, she was just as likely to embroider, sew quilts, bake cookies, tend to her cattle, or manage the family properties. Once, while hosting a group of friends to discuss their stocks and investments, Audrey paused her meeting to kill a rattlesnake threatening her dog using a .22 rifle. This bit of family lore underscores the vibrant and irreplicable force that was Audrey Dearing.

Audrey’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren love that “Oma” was quick to laughter and always ready with help or advice, whether it was hemming too-long pants, crafting holiday ornaments for the family, or canning jam to raise funds. If something needed to be done, there was a strong chance that Audrey could (and would) get it done.

Audrey is survived by Denise Dearing, Georgetown, TX, Harry and Shelley Dearing, The Woodlands, TX, and Linda Poehl, Pflugerville, TX. Her grandchildren are Jesse and Katie Dearing, Portland, OR, Harry and Buyka Dearing, Houston, TX, Savannah and John Sharpe, Hutto, TX and Sierra Marinos, San Francisco, CA. Her great grandchildren include Oliver, Gideon, and Finneas Dearing, Portland, OR and soon-to-be born Leonard Dearing, Houston, TX.

The family also recognizes Les Johnson, who worked with Audrey for many years on her properties as well as the caregivers that made it possible for her to remain in the home she loved until shortly before her passing.

Charitable gifts in her name are welcome. The family recommends Immanuel Lutheran Church (https://ilcpville.org), The Friends of the Pflugerville Library (https://friendsofthepflugervillelibrary.org) and the Pflugerville Education Foundation (https://thepfoundation.org) be considered as recipients.

A visitation for Audrey will be held Monday, November 18, 2024 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home in Pflugerville. A funeral service will be held Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 500 Immanuel Road in Pflugerville. Following the service, she will be laid to rest at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Cemetery.