Elise Bilhartz Townsend

Elise Bilhartz Townsend, 89, passed away after a very short illness Friday, December 18, 2020 in San Antonio, Texas. She was preceded in death by her late husband William B. “Bill” Townsend who passed away in 2009.

Elise was a lifelong resident of San Antonio, born to parents Elliot John Bilhartz and Mabel Emily Gass Bilhartz on July 26, 1931. She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1948, after which she attended San Antonio College for a short time before transferring to the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 1952. Returning to San Antonio, she taught Second Grade at Will Rogers Elementary for a short time before putting her career on hiatus to raise a family. She resumed her career as an educator in 1964 as a teacher at St. David’s Episcopal School and later at Bowie Elementary in SAISD. Elise went on with her own education earning a Master of Education degree from Trinity University with additional graduate work at Our Lady of The Lake University and Incarnate Word University to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. She retired in 1991 as an Educational Diagnostician and Special Education Counselor in the NEISD Department of Special Education.

Elise was a lifelong parishioner of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church where she was a member of St Nicholas Guild and Daughters of the King. She held membership in many fraternal, professional, and social organizations. In her undergraduate college years, she was involved in the Alpha Chi Omega and Sigma Sigma sororities, and later active in the Alpha Chi Omega Alumnae chapter of San Antonio. Professionally she belonged to the Delta Kappa Gamma Professional Society for Women Educators, the Texas Educational Diagnostician Association, the Texas Retired Teachers Association, the North San Antonio Retired Teachers Association, and had life memberships in the Texas State Teachers Association, South Texas Association of Counseling & Development, and Texas Association of Counseling & Development.

Elise was a long-standing member of the Daughters of the Nile Nekodah Temple No. 44 and was awarded a 50-year pin. She was also a life member of the Order of the Eastern Star Alamo Heights Chapter 734 and the San Antonio Women’s Club. She was a member of the State Association of Texas Pioneers for over 60 years, and in 1990, served as Honorary Lady Chairman of the Patriotic and Historical Ball held during Fiesta. She also was a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the Castro Colony Heritage Society, and the Conservation Society of San Antonio where she enjoyed making flowers for Fiesta. Later in life, she actively volunteered for many years as a docent at the UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures and at the McNay Art Museum.

Elise had a love for travel. She and her late husband Bill traveled extensively taking cruises to Europe, England, Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii, the South Pacific, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean. She has thoroughly enjoyed travel all over Texas and much of the U.S. and Canada with the Super Adults program of Laurel Heights Methodist Church.

Elise was a very creative and avid hobbyist for most of her life. As a young girl, she took ceramics lessons from Harding Black of the Witte Museum and also helped as an assistant. Over the years she has made and decorated thousands of ceramic pieces in her well-supplied home workshop, from nativity sets to the Easter eggs that she and Bill sold as a small cottage business. Later in life she became a very active learner at the Academy for Learning in Retirement program sponsored by NEISD. Through ALIR, her artistic endeavors expanded to china painting, watercolors, and pastels. She was a member of the La Villita Porcelain Art Group. She also was very proud to be a volunteer instructor for the Nix Health Foundation and their Senior Gold program with “Arts and Crafts with Elise.”

Above everything else, the most important thing in life to Elise was her loving family. She is survived by her brother Elliot John Bilhartz, Jr. and wife Mary Lou Bilhartz of Fort Worth, TX; her three children, Russell Elliot Hinote and wife Diane W. Hinote of Houston, TX, Elise Lynne Frierson and husband Dr. John H. Frierson of San Antonio, TX, Patricia Anne Ford and husband Timothy K. Ford of Austin, TX; her eight grandchildren, John Elliot Hinote and wife Mistie Dawn Hinote of Austin, TX, Emily Laurette Moore and husband Jared Aaron Moore of San Antonio, TX, David Russell Hinote of Houston, TX, Anne Elise Susen of Denver, CO, Everett Joseph Hinote and partner Pauline Sears of Missouri City, TX, Mitchell Timothy Ford and fiancée Jade Dunlop, of Austin, TX, Brandon Elliot Ford of Austin, TX, Caroline Elise Ford of Austin, TX; her nine great-grandchildren, Blake Alexander Moore and Luke Aaron Moore of San Antonio, TX, Abbie Marie Hinote, Addison Dawn Hinote, Allison Elizabeth Hinote, and Anndie Jean Hinote of Houston, TX, Jake Samuel Hinote and Ella Dawn Hinote of Austin, TX, and Liam Sears of Missouri City, TX; and her cousins, Marsha Gass Earl and husband Clifford A. Earl, Evelyn Kay Batot, and Ray Nell Batot, all of San Antonio, TX.

Mrs. Townsend’s service from Sunday, December 27, 2020 at 11:30 AM was recorded and can be viewed below.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a memorial contribution to the Super Adults Ministry at Laurel Heights Methodist Church, 227 W Woodlawn, San Antonio, TX 78212, c/o Susan Holloway, or to the Academy of Learning in Retirement, 8961 Tesoro Dr, San Antonio, TX 78217 ([email protected]).