Honoring Kathryn Killough

Where to begin? Each month is another fresh journey into tomorrow. We buried a dear friend, were proud of our husband as featured artist in the annual Flower & Art Show, sat with another friend while her husband had bypass surgery, enjoyed a style show of pioneer fashions, stayed in the historic Menger Hotel for a Daughters of the Republic of Texas meeting, enjoyed lunch with lovely ladies in their Spring bonnets, and helped introduce Martha and George Washington for 2006. Phew!

The Washington's Birthday Celebration Association and the Society of Martha Washington held a media reception at the home of Carroll and Evelyn Summers, parents of Robert Summers, who will portray George Washington. Martha will be Mary Reynolds Kazen.

Patriot Scholarships were awarded at the last SMW meeting, to Bernardo Ramirez, Jennifer Martinez, Alana Taylor, José Flavio Robles, Jacqueline Ender, Hector Alonzo, Lorena Buendia, Christopher Bustamante, and Angelique Snyder, according to Committee Chairman Jane Cigarroa Unzeitig. The students will attend Presidential Classroom.

Our dear friend Kathryn Killough passed away and we saw her twin sons Pat and Mike for the first time in many years. The boys have lived in Houston and their mother went to live near them when she retired. Mike and his wife Gigi have a handsome young son, Tony. Pat shared his home with his mom. Their late father, Garrett Killough, was a pharmacist in Laredo for many years.

Close friends who came for the service included Pat and Elsie Moore of Houston , Pat and Col. Austin Bryan (Air Force, ret.), Priscilla and Bob Hancock, Laura Gilligan Banks of Pflugerville, and several who remembered Kathryn or Garrett.

Pat Moore gave a loving and humorous testimony, recalling the years that the four families lived in the Guinn Apartments on Mier Street that then became the Wilson Apartments. The families were the Killoughs, the Moores, the Housers, and the Wilsons. He took everyone back in time, remembering Monk and Rose Houser and their son Willie, and most of all, the wonderful surprise, when later in their parents' lives, the Killough twins joined the “family” on Mier Street that also grew to include Max and Evelyn Wilson, with their children Abe and Rebecca. He extemporaneously traced events in all of their lives as they met the challenges of life, together. Willie's high jinks tormenting the Taylor twins next door or Yvonne Sulak across the street, brought smiles to our faces.

The Killam family was also close friends during those years and David and his mother Sue came to pay their respects. Laura Gilligan Banks was another close friend of the twins. Her parents, Neil and Lil, lived in Laredo for many years. They have been married over 50 years and enjoy traveling quite a bit now. Neil is retired and Lil is a lobbyist for several pharmaceutical companies. Laura works for Dell, Inc., in Round Rock as a telecom engineer in Global Services; Richard works for the Comptroller of Public Accounts as a systems analyst. Laura's brother Skipper died in 1989.

Pat DaCamara Bryan and Austin now live in San Antonio at the Air Force Village. Their daughter Debbie graduated from Nixon High School in Laredo and was presented by the Society of Martha Washington in 1970 while her father was in Viet Nam . She now lives in Washington, DC. She is married to Col. Dorin E. Balls. Austin Bryan, Jr., now resides in Sydney, Australia.

Mike Killough works for British Petroleum, in plastics. Gigi is going back for her elementary education certification. Tony is in fifth grade and enjoys basketball and swimming.

Pris and Bob Hancock's granddaughter, Kathryn Adair, was named for Kathryn Killough.

Following the service, Frank and Julie Staggs hosted the little group for lunch at the Country Club, where many recognized them and stopped to speak. Valerie Leyendecker and Ceci Canseco Keck, also neighbors in those long-ago years, recalled birthday parties celebrated at the television station.

Laura is married to Richard Banks. Their son and daughter-in-law, James Clay and Dawn, have two children, Cheyenne and Kama. They live in Corpus Christi. James served nine years in the Army and now works at the Naval Air Station. Tiffany Clay graduated from Texas A&M in 2000.

Old friend Bill McKendrick had a rough time of it during and following by-pass surgery but is much improved, reports his Adriana. We visited in the hospital waiting room as our son was having carpal tunnel surgery at the same time. Their daughter Courtney lives in San Antonio and is currently remodeling her condominium. She is practicing construction law in the Alamo City. Her sister Georgeann also lives in San Antonio. Georgeann's daughter Andrea Renee Vera is a competitive cheerleader. Georgeann is a general manager with Pottery Barn Kids, which is part of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Both girls enjoy what they do.

Speaking of grandchildren, our grandson Raul Vela (IV) and some of his pals and fellow musicians at Churchill High in San Antonio had a great idea and decked themselves out in modern day Zoot Suits to wear to the Senior Prom. The girls wore 40s-style slinky gowns. Their rock and roll band, The Remainders, has recently recorded three original songs.

The guys' prom dates were Avery Tornabene, Maya Bouthillette, LeChele Calvert, Patricia Drew, and Kim Bacon. The guys are Kyle Robertson, Jason Trujillo, Raul Vela, Jay Elizalde, and Tom Wilson.

When Raul's sister Jennie turned 14 recently, her parents hosted a bash at their home honoring her and the other eighth grade graduates of St. George's Episcopal School. Raul and another group he performs with, The Graces, performed. His dad Dr. Raul (III) also did a turn with him, playing guitar accompanying his son's drums. Music reigns at their home, with an upstairs bedroom turned into the music room. Granddad, retired Dr. Raul (Jr.), and grandma Anne Vela, now living in San Antonio, were enjoying the evening also. The two grandmas, Anne and your reporter, wiggled their shoulders in time to the music and were much impressed. Forgive us, dear readers, for plugging in our family time and again. Guess it's one of the perks of the job.

And speaking of families with generations of the same names, we were helping out at the animal shelter when a nice-looking young man came out looking for his dogs that had escaped through a gate left open. We spoke of our mutual love of animals and of the problems faced by animal shelters everywhere.

We gave him our name and asked for his, and when he removed his dark glasses and told me he was Matias de Llano (III), we saw the strong resemblance to that handsome family. Turns out he is the nephew of the Matias (Jr.) who was friends with our parents and this Matias is the son of Zulema and Fernando de Llano. We had spoken with Zulema the day before, about some fencing that needs repairs. They own Maverick Fence Company and Zulema helped us years ago, when the shelter was modernized. It needs it again, badly, and the board of directors is involved in a great push to fix the present facility, while continuing to pursue plans for a new and modern facility.

The shelter is coping with the retirement of long-time director Isabel Mendez and her husband Enrique, who held the fort for so many years, doing the very best they could with limited funds. The city is growing so fast that many things need to be addressed and we are very hopeful that the answers will present themselves.

Marie Farias Rollin has become a dear friend. She was among the Laredo group who attended the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Bi-National Conference in San Antonio recently.

We have often thought that Marie's classic good looks and quiet poise give her the look of Spanish royalty. We again met her brother George Farias, owner of Borderlands Book Store in San Antonio. He had books for sale or just a look-see. We purchased several.

We had a chuckle over the anecdote George told us when we mentioned our opinion of Marie to him. Seems that their parents lived in Spain while their father was an accountant for H.B. Zachry Co. Friends and family referred to them as the Count and Countess of Villa Alheja, the tiny hamlet in which they lived. George is also a great history and geneology buff and got Marie interested when he joined a chapter of the Sons of the Republic of Texas.

The conference began with a reception in Alamo Hall at the revered Texas shrine. Conference sessions were held at the nearby Menger Hotel, where the out-of-town members stayed. The historic black and white photos that line the hallways take one back in time. It is amazing how often one meets someone out of town who has a Laredo connection. The amiable and helpful Menger director of public relations, Ernesto Malacara, knows many people in Laredo and visits often.

Theme for the conference was “The Texas Revolution on the Río Grande.” Speakers included Miguel Angel Gonzalez Quiroga on “Nuevo Leon in the Texas Revolution.” Dr. Felix D. Almaraz, Jr., spoke on “Santa Anna and His Generals.” “The Texas Revolution and the Río Grande Border” was the subject of TAMIU's Dr. Stanley C. Green. “José María Carvajal and the Struggle for Texas” was Dr. Joseph E. Chance's subject. From all of these learned researchers and historians, we got a marvelous view from both sides.

Moderator was Dr. Richard Bruce Winders, Historian and Curator of The Alamo.

The Joshua Brown Chapter of the DRT from Kerrville came to present a style show of pioneer fashions, made from actual patterns of the period. Guests learned how a bonnet was made stiff to hold its form, how sleeves and/or collars were added or removed for different functions and how an apron could be turned into a bonnet, and many other ways the pioneers learned to improvise. Even “unmentionables” were modeled. Models included Shirley Smith, Anita Moore, Kathleen Skeen, Midge Gore, Patsy Macias, and Pat Gaines.

The affair was held at the Covey Lounge of the Holiday Inn Civic Center. Clever Julia Ruhlman arranged it. Guests included Amelia Casillas, Sara Z. Hanlon, Mrs. Tere Vazquez. Celina M. Cortez is a speech pathologist and her mom Sylvia Farias Cortez, a retired principal, is now librarian for St. Augustine School.

We learned that Gladys B. Kazen now lives with her daughter in Denver. She helps with her church and the Salvation Army and is happy but misses Laredo. Sara Hanlon is very active with Doctor's Hospital Auxiliary. She helps to select student scholarship recipients who will pursue medical careers. The $18,000 will go for this.

Cute Elena García is active with the Pan American Round Table. Several Peruvian visitors were in Laredo and are visiting cities all over the U.S.A. Elena brought us information on this group who promote International Friendship and Peace. Space does not allow this issue, but we promise to use it soon. We have also promised Libby Haber to promote the Vista Volunteer program and will do so at first opportunity.

A little humor off the Internet: “A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance and to turn around three times before lying down.” - Robert Benchley.