Obituaries

Mary Ellen Lenggenhager Stubbe

Mary Ellen Lenggenhager Stubbe, 76, died Feb. 9, 2017, at her home in Georgetown, Texas, with her children and sister by her side. She was preceded in death by her husband of 41 years, Donald Carl Stubbe, an infant son, James Donald Stubbe and her parents. She is survived by her sons, Richard Stubbe of Houston and John Stubbe of Austin; her daughter and son-in-law, Ellen Stubbe Kester and Steve Kester, also of Austin; her sister and brother-in-law, Sally and Tim Blewett of Little Rock, Ark.; her daughter-in-law, Diana Stubbe of Houston; her sister-in-law, Nancy Stubbe of Springfield, Mo.; her grandchildren, Christina (Alix) Charles and Marissa Stubbe of Houston; Eliza Stubbe, Kathryn, Sarah and Thomas Kester of Austin; and her nieces and nephew, Ann Stubbe of Palm springs, Calif.; Anne Blewett Ansley of Arlington, Texas; and Stan Blewett of Taipei, Taiwan. Since her father was one of 12 children she is also survived by many cousins. Mary Ellen was born Dec. 15, 1940, in Little Rock, Ark, the first of two daughters of Carl and Dorothy (Harpham) Lenggenhager. She attended Little Rock Central High School, where her mother was a teacher, and was in the first graduating class at Little Rock Hall High School in 1958. She attended the U of A in Fayetteville, where she pledged Delta Delta Delta. She met Don in 1960 through her childhood friend Linda Neathery Hartell. At the end of their double date, Mary Ellen accidentally left her scarf in Don's car. Don noticed the scarf at the time and chose not to mention it so he'd have an excuse to see her again. And indeed he did... they were married June 28, 1961, at Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas. After their honeymoon in Acapulco they lived at Little Rock Air Force Base until Don finished his tour of duty. Don's banking career began at Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, Pa., and took them to Charlotte, N.C., back to Little Rock, and to Houston. Don then took a position in Singapore, where he and Mary Ellen spent several wonderful years exploring Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. On returning to the States, they lived briefly in Houston and Dallas before settling in Columbus, Ohio. Mary Ellen then started her own career working in the Bridal Registry at five different Marshall Field's stores in three different cities. After Don died in Columbus in June 2002, Mary Ellen moved to Sun City to be closer to her family. She was an amazing cook and a prodigious collector of recipes. She dove into genealogy and with Sally traced their family's roots back to the 1600s. She was a member of Grace Episcopal Church and the Sisterhood of PEO in Georgetown, a philanthropic organization supporting higher education for women. She was a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers... even named her dear cat Ben... and enjoyed playing mahjong and bridge with her many friends in Sun City. After her father had a stroke she cared for him in her home for three years until his death at age 99 in July 2014. She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in December of that year. A memorial service was held Saturday, Feb. 18, at Grace Episcopal Church, 1314 E University Ave. in Georgetown. Memorial contributions may be made to the church, the IR chapter of PEO, ℅ Alice Poage, 531 Mill Pond Path, Georgetown, Texas, 78633 or a charity of your choice.

Published February 19, 2017

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