Katherine Autry Talbot went out on a high note. She spent November 13, 2021, the last day of her life, at a small music party for her birthday. She began the festivities by announcing that ‘‘you don’t hit 97 without a few hitches,” and then she spent her final hours singing.
That was fitting, because she was born into the guitar-strumming, fiddle-bowing, seven-member Autry family on November 24, 1924 in Cuthbert, TX. She grew up on the family farm, picking cotton for her dad, but like all Autrys, she had a creative twist, and hers found its outlet through the guitar (with side doses of writing and photography and sewing).
She graduated from Ira High as valedictorian in 1942, and joined the war effort by shooting rivets and working with sheet metal on damaged airplanes (a true Rosie the Riveter). She used the money she earned to buy land in Cuthbert and pay for college at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, TX (she and her younger sister Frances alternated in paying for each other to attend college). After graduating she was offered a teaching job at Zavala School in El Paso, Texas. She arrived with a suitcase in one hand and a guitar in the other. Soon after, she met her husband, Charles Talbot, who won her heart early by asking her on a first date to church. They married in 1952, and hardly missed a service at First Methodist Church (later Trinity-First), where they remained active members for the rest of their lives.
Katy enjoyed teaching elementary school for many years, while continuing to play guitar with family and friends. In the 1960’s, when the Beatles and folk music were all the rage, Chuck mentioned Katy’s guitar abilities to a coworker, and the Talbot house was never the same: For the rest of her life, Katy taught guitar students, hundreds of guitar students, each of whom enriched her life. She threw hootenannies and she hated to cancel a lesson. During this time she herself took classical guitar lessons from Manolo Parra, and perfected her flamenco style.
She also loved to travel—long before the Internet she meticulously researched and planned trips all over the world. She kept souvenirs from Tahitian black pearls to Russian stacking dolls to Italian vases. She hiked the Copper Canyon in Mexico, took a boat down the Rhine River in Germany, traced her father’s footsteps during World War I through France, and revisited World War II sites with Chuck in Italy. She brought back a rock or two from just about any ground upon which she trod, and took more photos on her film cameras than most of us do on our iPhones. When her traveling days were winding down, she turned her attention closer to home as she chaired the Heritage Committee at Trinity First, ensuring that the history of the church was preserved, and also obtained a Historical Marker for Houchen.
Throughout her life, music was her constant—the food for her spirit and the joy in her days. When Chuck passed away in 2009, guitar student Dr. Greer Craig introduced her to Dr. Bob Jacobs (surgeon by day and meticulous twelve-string guitar player by night). She already knew Marilyn Rago (possessed of the most beautiful voice in El Paso) and the three musicians formed a trio. The Desert Diamonds entertained in El Paso and cut CDs until Katy was in her nineties. She kept her body and lungs strong by attending water aerobics with her close and steadfast friend Evelyn Deckerd and the exercise group who encouraged her with lunches, birthday celebrations and enduring friendships.
Katy carried on the Autry legacy of gentleness, patience, and kindness but also hard work. Uncharitable words did not cross her lips. She wore rose-colored glasses through good times and bad. She set goals and found quiet ways to make them happen. Never showy and always humble, she took pride in her work, whether it was music, writing, photography, or teaching school, and her family is blessed to have her CDs, pictures and stories, all of which are a testament to a life well-lived.
Katy is survived by her three children—Marci Talbot Liles, a lawyer who’s been known to sing on occasion (Gary); Tom Talbot, a plant specialist who can make anything that photosynthesizes flourish in the desert (Alejandro); and Scott Talbot who has mastered not only the guitar but also the mandolin, banjo, and computers. She is also survived by her two grandchildren, Jenny Liles Link (Phillip), a dermatologist in Rochester, MN; Lindsey Liles, a writer in Charleston, SC; and nieces and nephews Margaret Payne Hetrick, John Payne, Dr. Marvin Payne, Carolyn Moitoret Barrett, Kate Moitoret, Jackie Moitoret Grissom, Kyle Jones, Dr. Tobin Jones, Karen Jones Pauley, Jonel Jones, Dr. Linda Autry, Beverly Autry Pfau, Angeline Autry Stovall, and Lance Autry. Lastly, she is survived by fleets of guitar-picking fingers across Texas and New Mexico and when any of us pick up an instrument or hear a good song, Katy is not far away.
A Memorial Service will be held on December 3, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. at Trinity-First Methodist Church in El Paso, Texas. In lieu of flowers please make contributions to Trinity-First Methodist Church, 801 N. Mesa St., El Paso, TX 79902 (Music Fund).
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MartinFuneralHomeWest.com for the Talbot family.
