Ellen Stewart Spangler

Ellen Stewart Spangler was born on June 20, 1939 in Jal, New Mexico. Her family moved to Kermit, Texas, where her father, Owen Mitchell Stewart, was the Kermit High School principal, and her mother, a former English teacher, was the high school librarian. Ellen met her future husband, Roy E. Spangler, when she was in the 8th grade, and married him soon after her high school graduation in 1957.

She followed Roy to the University of North Texas to study English, from where he graduated, and then they moved to Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah when Roy was drafted into the Army. There, Ellen continued her English studies, obtaining her B.A. and M.A. at the University of Utah. When Roy accepted a job at the VA Hospital in Albuquerque, N.M., Ellen pursued and obtained a Ph.D. in English at the University of New Mexico, where she later taught college classes. Together, Ellen and Roy traveled throughout Europe, sparking a love of travel that lasted her lifetime.

In 1971, Ellen gave birth to Jessica, she and Roy’s only child. She was a doting mother who made elaborate Halloween costumes for her daughter every year. In 1979, the family moved to Peekskill, New York, where Ellen taught in a variety of settings—colleges, a gifted program at a middle school, and in prisons, including the infamous Sing-Sing. Ellen always said her favorite students were her prisoners. Ellen was also a brilliant writer—publishing articles in the New York Times and the New Yorker.

After graduating high school, Jessica moved to San Antonio to attend Trinity University. A year later, Ellen and Roy followed her to San Antonio, where Ellen lived for the rest of her life. Her daughter Jessica married Bryan Taylor in 1999 in San Antonio. Sadly, after 43 years of marriage, Roy died a year later. Afterwards, Ellen traveled solo through Europe and published articles in the San Antonio Express News about her experiences.

In 2004, she met Richard Tietz, her partner until his death in 2017. Together they also traveled abroad extensively. In 2007, due to her burgeoning interest in art, she became a volunteer docent at the McNay Art Museum—a position she loved. Ellen’s grandson, Jackson Taylor, was born in 2006 and she relished being a grandmother. She passed along her love of writing to Jackson, who is now 15. Ellen is survived by her daughter Jessica Taylor, a lawyer and owner of her own law firm, her son-in-law Bryan Taylor, a principal software engineer for HEB, and her grandson, Jackson Taylor.

Ellen’s memorial service will be held on Friday, May 28, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. at Porter Loring Mortuary North, 2102 N. Loop 1604 E., San Antonio, Texas. Donations may be given to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit organization close to Ellen’s heart, in lieu of flowers.

For those who are unable to attend in person, the service will be livestreamed below: