Margaret Josephine Engelking

Jo Engelking was born on February 4, 1927 to Lester Reed Dillon, Sr. and Ella May Shenefelt Dillon. She died October 31, 2005 surrounded by family at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House. She had three daughters, Susan, Marion and Margaret, to whom she was devoted. Jo’s home in San Antonio was always open to their friends and neighborhood children. Every evening there were games in her backyard – baseball, football, badminton, and “treeball” (an elaborate game that involved climbing trees and hiding among the branches). Summer evenings meant watermelon and homemade ice cream. Her children remember spending many nights in the backyard, studying constellations, falling asleep on palettes, and magically awakening in their beds. Other nights they would climb the swing set to watch movies showing at the San Pedro drive-in. Neighborhood kids knew they could always stop at Mrs. Engelking’s house for lemonade and homemade cookies. Jo grew up during the Depression, the youngest of four children. She came of age during World War II. She graduated from Brackenridge High School in San Antonio and was a senior at the University of Texas at Austin when she became engaged. Jo encouraged her children’s educational and creative pursuits. She helped them learn science by observing nature, English by reading books, and math by playing card games and dominos. She believed children benefited more from playing outdoors than doing homework. After her children were grown, she worked in retail, including ten years with the legendary Frost Bros. Jo loved reading, poetry, birds, gardening and the outdoors. She loved children’s books, especially the original Pooh, Oz series, and Robert Louis Stevenson. She spent a great deal of time at her family’s ranch near Luling. She supported the Audubon Society and was dismayed by manmade chemicals in our environment. She loved the piano, Pomeranians, Eastern Star, and later, spending time with her grandchildren. She kept a collection of classic movies to watch with them. She was a micro-philanthropist who would send frequent, small, well-considered donations of ten dollars or so to her favorite causes, including Salvation Army, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Scottish Rite children’s charities, Audubon Society, March of Dimes, and Hospice. Jo is survived by her daughters and their families: Susan and Eric Rosenberg and children Joely and Jack, of Austin; Marion and Paul Douglas and children Joseph Delarosa and Rachel, of Austin, and Margaret and Hal Lloyd and daughter Georgia, of San Antonio. She is survived by older siblings Lester Reed Dillon, Marion Lemons, Alto Eva Frye, and many nieces and nephews. The family thanks everyone who assisted with her care since her stroke in June, especially the staff and volunteers with Hospice Austin’s Christopher House. A small service will be held today, November 1 at 12:00 noon at Assumption Cemetery in Austin, where she will be buried next to Jorge Juan Delarosa, her son-in-law who predeceased her. A memorial service will be held on her birthday, Saturday, February 4, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio, where she was a member since the 1950s. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Salvation Army or charity of your choice. Memorials and guestbook online at wcfish.com