Betty Elwell

Betty Merle Sanders Elwell, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend passed away peacefully at her home in Gilmer on Saturday, December 31, 2011 surrounded by her family. Services will be held 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at First Baptist Church of Gilmer with Larry W. Osborne officiating. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park under the direction of Croley Funeral Home of Gilmer. The family will receive friends on Monday, January 2 from 6-8 p.m. at the funeral home. Mrs. Elwell was born March 17, 1928, on her family"s farm in the Denning community near San Augustine, Texas. She was the tenth and youngest child of Willie Curtis and Etheal Harrell Sanders. She graduated from San Augustine High School and Tyler Commercial College, where she met C. E. "Spookey" Elwell. They married in 1947 and made their home in Gilmer until his death in 1990. She was a charter member of Midway Baptist Church and served as the church"s first clerk. At her death, she was a member of the Open Sunday School Class at First Baptist Church of Gilmer. Mrs. Elwell was a member of the Ezekiel Cullen Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas in San Augustine. She held memberships and officer positions with the Bluebonnet Literary Club and Gilmer Country Club. For more than thirty-five years, she was an active member of the country club and also participated in the Ladies" Golf Association. In 1974, she retired from the Texas Department of Human Resources after 22 years as a social worker. In 1976, she and her husband, along with their nephew and niece, Jim and Wanda Elwell, established Elwell Car Wash and Mini Warehouses, which they operated in Gilmer until 2003. Affectionately known by their family and friends as "Mimmie" and "Spookey," the couple toured the 48 contiguous states and many presidential and historical homes. Her hobbies included European travel, gardening, antiquing, playing dominoes, and genealogical research. She is survived by her daughter Suzanne Elwell-Cappel of Gilmer, daughter and son-in-law Deborah and Gene Walker of Longview and grandchildren, Carrie R. Cappel of Fort Worth, Meredith Elwell Cappel of New York, and Andrew Elwell Walker of Fort Worth. She is also survived by brother Lester H. Sanders, sister Ruth Fowler, sister-in-law Juanita Sanders, nieces Carol Vaughn, Anita Edwards, Martha Freeman, Mary Nell Smith, Sandy Thompson, and nephews Hulon Sanders, Charles Morris, Chester Sanders, Jr., Steve Fowler, Tony Elwell and Jim Elwell. Pallbearers will be Gene Walker, Andrew Elwell Walker, Tony Elwell, Jim Elwell, Tommy Bledsoe and Steve Stewart. Honorary Pallbearers will be the Open Sunday School Class, Ladies" Monday Night Domino Group, Jerry Payne, Hulon Sanders, Charles Morris, Chester Sanders, Jr., Steve Fowler, John Lee Ussery, Melvin Loyd and Richard Yocom. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, Scholarship Fund or Upshur Shares Food Pantry, 217 West Cass, Gilmer, TX 75644.