Elsie Jewel Barnett Hill Reynolds

 

Elsie Jewel Barnett Hill Reynolds
Elsie Jewel Barnett Hill Reynolds

Elsie Jewel Barnett Hill Reynolds, 92, of Amarillo, TX passed away on December 24, 2021.

Born Elsie Jewel Barnett in 1929, September 25th was her sunrise day. The youngest jewel of the Elbon Richard and Lida Bell Foster Barnett family legacy, Elsie was born in Woodward Oklahoma where the family of 12 lived in a hillside dugout home. Being the youngest with little motivation or encouragement to finish school, young Elsie was helped by her just older sister to get a job at the telephone company. She also worked at a grocery store for a while.

At age 16, married and pregnant, Elsie and her family moved to the Texas panhandle, outside Amarillo, close to married siblings who had become Texas farmers. So began Elsie’s adult journey.

After the devastating Woodward tornado in 1947, Elsie’s now Texas family traveled back to Woodward to check up on other family members & help with salvage & cleanup. Her father, Elbon, helped identify the casualties. He knew everyone in town who purchased watermelons and cantaloupes from his 20-foot-long wagon pulled by Pete and Kate, his pair of mules.

After a short marriage & the loss of a baby girl just a few hours old, Elsie was hired at Adrian Mercantile, owned by her sister & brother-in-law. There she met Cecil Hill, a handsome custom harvester, also from a large family in Roosevelt, Oklahoma. Cecil married Elsie on March 6, 1952. They moved outside Amarillo & eventually built their own home in 1966 while rearing 3 children, a girl & two boys.

Surviving her husband Cecil in 2009, Elsie met & married Earl Reynolds of Canyon, Texas, creating selfless and accepting bonds with many of Earl’s family. She was preceded in death by Earl in September 2020 after almost 11 years of marriage on his ranch.

When Earl and Elsie married, their marriage was described as piecing a quilt – Elsie had already created her largest most intricate quilt with her husband Cecil, one day shy of 57 years together, and their 3 children.

Her children kidded her about having the same name as Elsie the Borden’s cow. Actually, she was very much like Borden’s Elsie who was marketed as a smart homemaker who cooked delicious nutritious food and took care of her family.

Elsie became an excellent seamstress in her very young years, creating stylish clothing for herself & then for her 3 young children. She was an active homemaker, homesteader, home builder, chicken wrangler and dresser, fresh egg peddler, 4-H parent and teacher, master upholsterer & drapery maker, bargain seeker, and finally a Levi Strauss Returns’ Department manager before retiring to an empty nest and enjoying grandchildren and hobbies. Then she added exquisite quilting to her repertoire of which she made and gave away many.

Elsie’s favorite color was red, and she also loved music, dancing, and ice cream as she enjoyed life. Her daughter told her in later years that she could be a comedian if that was her desire-she had the wit.

The Old Rugged Cross was a favorite song of hers, but her latest love of music was listening to Daniel O’Donnell on youtube or moving her hands like a master maestro conductor and tapping her feet while listening to the 1/2 Price Band at the Continental Senior Living complex where she and Earl moved in February 2020 after selling the ranch. The band had the rhythm and Elsie confirmed it by smiling from ear to ear. She always felt the rhythm and it showed.

After much consideration, Elsie’s daughter-in-law Laura made the decision to be Elsie’s “assisted living” allowing her to stay at the Continental. Laura has said – Elsie was still the boss 🙂 and did most things Elsie’s way. Laura also stated that without Elsie’s smarts, she wouldn’t have been able to help Elsie in this way. Unfortunately, after a year it was clear that Laura needed more help taking care of Elsie, so BSA Hospice was called upon for a while until Elsie was moved to The Ware Nursing Home where she received excellent care. She was tired, having had a very rewarding life, and ready to meet her heavenly family.

Elsie took everything in stride and was a brave and fearless woman, always loved being with her family, and served them very well.

The sun set for Elsie on December 24, 2021, after 92 years of active life. What better gift for Elsie than to enter heaven on Christmas Eve, to be greeted by her heavenly family and Jesus.

Elsie’s 90th birthday was a celebration, as is the beginning of her heavenly adventures, even before her earthly body is laid to rest with Cecil, her husband of 57 years at Memory Gardens Cemetery, Amarillo, Texas on Wednesday, December 29, 2021.

Elsie is survived by her daughter, Diana Hill Pack (son-in-law, Dale); son, Kevin Dale Hill (life-long friend, Valerie Ratheal) and two grandsons, Tulley and Tucker; daughter-in-law, Laura (son, Brian Keith Hill, deceased in 2015) and grandson, Adam; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be prior to the service from 12:30 P.M. – 1:30 P.M., Wednesday, December 29, 2021, at Boxwell Brothers Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 P.M., Wednesday, December 29, 2021, in the Boxwell Brothers Ivy Chapel. Burial will follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2800 Paramount Blvd.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial donations to be made to BSA Hospice, 5211 SW 9th Ave Suite 100, Amarillo, TX 79106.

Please use this link to view the funeral via livestream: https://www.facebook.com/BoxwellBrothersFuneralDirectors/live/

2 Replies to “Elsie Jewel Barnett Hill Reynolds”

  1. I was only in Elsie’s life for a short time but she filled it will her smile and joy! She will sure be missed, but heaven is now even more beautiful!

  2. Thank you for writing the beautiful obituary and for the lovely photo of your mom, Elsie. She really was a jewel. We have been friends of the Hill family since the 70’s, all of our adult lives. Our daughters grew up knowing them all of their lives. Elsie and Cecil and their family were friendly, kind, and hospitable people who welcomed so many of us into their home and lives. I am so blessed to know the Hill family. I give thanks for Elsie’s legacy and look forward to seeing her again in eternity. Sincerely, Julia Lane O’Dell and family

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