Anita Geraldine Wyatt

International interior designer David Hicks once said, "The best rooms have something to say about the people who live in them" and this was true of the work, life, and death of Jerry Wyatt. Her legacy will live on, but the centerpiece will be forever missing.

Born to Hugh and Nova McGaughey in Waco, Texas on January 6th, 1938, Anita Geraldine—Jerry (or as her father called her “Jicky”)—was a spirited young girl so innately contented that her sisters, Kakie and Lola, said she sang in her sleep. Even as a child, she had a natural intuition for design and was even then outspoken about what she had in mind.

After graduating from Waco High School, she enrolled at Baylor University where she met the one and only love of her life, Gene Wyatt, whom she pursued doggedly until he proposed and they were married. She worked in typing pools and as personal assistants before his banking career took them to Midland, Beaumont, Orange, Galveston, Texarkana, and ultimately Austin—with a beautiful life built along the way.

Over the course of 13 years, Scott, then Joel, and finally David were born and she mothered them with everything she had. Jerry designed and built each wonderful home in succession with no formal training but an unstoppable drive to create gorgeous living spaces for her family, replete with abundant tables, and especially awe-inspiring traditional Christmas decor.

Once the kids were old enough, she and Kakie opened an antique store called Trappings, Inc. that ultimately became her interior design business, known for her signature panache, knowledge of European furnishings, and especially her love of French country interiors. Her expertise was sought for over 50 years by dignitaries, businesses, and friends, and she was forever ever on the hunt for inspiration, traveling—often alone—on buying trips as far away as London.

Even after finally retiring only a few years ago, she never stopped working on her swan song: the elegant home she tirelessly renovated and decorated in Westlake, where she was known to pull out antique tableware for even the most intimate breakfast or impromptu happy hour. And she was never without a divinely wrapped gift for her close friends, neighbors, and family.

Ultimately, her home was the setting for what she cherished more than all else: time with her sisters, Kathryn “Kakie” Byrd and the late Lola Wyatt; her boys and their spouses, Bruce and Rachel; her beloved grandchild Miles; good friends; extended family; and her constant companions, Miss Dog then Baybe and finally Elsa and Anna. She never ran out of ideas for her next project and was ever curious. Never one to do the expected, Jerry passed away with no warning in the wee hours of July 25th, peacefully in her quarters—beautiful as the day she was born.

In accordance to her wishes, she has been cremated and intermingled with the ashes of her love Gene, which will take one final terrestrial adventure to the south of France. In lieu of a formal service or funeral flowers, donations can be made to Austin Pets Alive (austinpetsalive.org/donate).