Sylvia was born November 23, 1939, to Buster B. and Jean Elsbeth McWhorter Killebrew in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School in Houston in 1957 and held a master’s degree from the University of Houston. She was a long-time executive secretary at Saber Energy, later Valero. Sylvia was committed to Christian education in her Lutheran Church, both at the synodical level and in her beloved congregations. One of her most cherished memories is of the trip she took with other parishioners to explore the seminary her church supported in Ethiopia. She loved reading, her dogs, keeping her sunroom full of green plants, and gathering her family for fellowship and meals.
Sylvia was preceded in death by her husband Bob, her parents, and her two younger sisters Barbara Preston and Linda Arnold, as well as her infant son Robert. She also had four half-sisters: Martha Underwood, Jimmie Wade, Joan Romain, and Nancy Sibley. She is survived by her daughter Jennifer (David Nelson) and son Andy (Lisa Chapman), her two grandchildren Rachel Teague (Bram) and Margaret Gadd-Nelson, and numerous nieces and nephews.
A visitation will be held at Forest Park East, Webster, Texas, September 19, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., with a funeral service afterwards at 2:00 p.m., with the Reverend Emory Gadd officiating. An interment service will follow. The family requests memorials be designated for the First Lutheran Church, 1406 6th St., Floresville, Texas, 78114, Ethiopia Missions Fund.
