Ann Taylor Gillespie

When she was born in Gause, Texas, on October 16, 1935, Ann was given the first name of Lovedy which she did not like and did not go by. Before moving to Austin just after high school with her best friend Betty, Ann also lived in Uvalde, Medina, Bastrop, and Smithville. Mutual friends introduced her to Bill Gillespie, a native Austinite, and they married in 1955. As a young bride and then mother, she worked at Southwestern Bell Telephone Company and City National Bank as a switchboard operator then at Capitol Chevrolet and Armstrong McCall as a bookkeeper. Ann then became a school secretary with Austin Independent School District so she could be home during the summers with her two daughters, Terri and Lisa. She was such a good secretary that if the school principal was transferred to another school, they always asked that Ann transfer along with them. Her last position was as executive assistant for the first superintendent of the newly formed Lake Travis Independent School District.

After retiring from the schools, Ann became a photo researcher for the book publisher Harcourt Brace Jovanovich which led to her becoming an assistant to photographer and author, Laurence Parent. In an inscription, Laurence wrote, "For Ann, thanks for all your help with managing my photos over the years...I couldn't have done all these books without you." Ann loved Laurence and his family and cherished working with him.

Ann loved butterflies which is quite fitting because she was such a people person and social butterfly. She had countless friends and was involved in many social activities including two book clubs, two Bunco groups, Red Hat, a civic sorority, and her Beach Buddies group which was also the TexMex Margarita group. She had FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and was always on the go.

Ann loved the fellowship she found at church. She was a longtime member of Southwest Christian Church and for a time went to Riverbend Church where Gerald Mann was the pastor. He had associations with music notables and Ann said she enjoyed the "free concerts" she got from Willie Nelson and Randy Travis among others. Ann became a longtime member of Woodlawn Baptist Church and was very active with her Sunday school group.

Ann was always the most proud of her daughters and they came first, always. They were everything to her. And she was everything to them. Terri and Lisa's birthdays were not complete without the expected early morning phone call from their mom singing the Chicken of the Sea jingle about the mermaid being asked what's the best tuna. That tradition went on for decades.

Ann is survived by her daughter Lisa Gillespie (DJ Harris), her sister Jane, many nieces and nephews, and countless friends. She is preceded in death and will be reunited with her daughter, Terri Hartley, her husband Bill, her sisters Lerline and Robbie, her parents, her cat Lilly, and many friends and colleagues.

A special thank you goes out to Stephanie and Colony at Hospice Austin and the many caregivers at Stonebridge each of whom gave exemplary loving care to Ann.

A celebration of Ann's life will be held in the auditorium of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on October 25, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. Attendees are asked to wear purple, Ann's favorite color. A private graveside service will be held at the historic Hornsby Cemetery in the future.

In lieu of flowers, lasting donations may be made to the Hornsby Cemetery Management Trust (a 501(c)13 non-profit) c/o Dorothy Landoll, 114 Greenslope Cove, Bastrop Texas, 78602, or The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, www.michaeljfox.org. And Ann would just be so tickled if all y'all became members of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, www.wildflower.org