Esther D. Bookout

Santa Rosa: Esther Dora Phillips Bookout was called home by her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.  She was born September 19, 1922 in Custer County, OK to Frank and Erma Phillips.  As a small child, her family moved to the Middlewater Community outside Dalhart, TX.  In her early teen years they moved back to Weatherford, OK where she graduated from high school in 1940.  She took courses at Southwestern College and then took a job as secretary to the Dean of Engineering at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) in Stillwater, OK.  She was then offered a job as bookkeeper and secretary for a flight school at the airport in Stillwater, OK that was training pilots for the military during WW II.  While there she also earned her pilot’s license.  She left that job in 1947 to come to Harlingen to be with her sister during the birth of her first child.  She planned to return to Oklahoma after a few weeks but ended up staying in Harlingen where she and a friend, Irene Houston Lynch, eventually owned and operated the Cardinal Comet Drive-in across from Boggus Stadium.  She met her husband, William Hoyt Bookout, and they were married January 22, 1950.  They farmed and raised their family in the Santa Rosa area.  Her husband predeceased her in 2005.  She is also predeceased by her parents and a sister, Rita Skelton.  She is survived by her children, Dr. Craig Bookout (Beth) of Lytle, TX; Lowell Bookout of Santa Rosa, TX and Julie Morrow (Monty) of Harlingen; her grandchildren, Justin Parra (Tara) of Austin, TX, Alison Abrigo (Ben) of Harlingen, Stephen Bookout  of Kyle, TX, 1st Lt. Nathan Bookout of Daleville, AL,; great-grandchildren, Olivia, Rowan, and Vaughn Parra, and Mackenzie Abrigo.  She is also survived by her sisters, Fran Russell of Greeley, CO, and Joan Schumann (Eddie) of Bay City, TX.  She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Louise Richardson of Harlingen, brother-in-law, Jim Bookout of Corpus Christi, TX, numerous nieces and nephews, and close family friend, Jesse Garcia.  She was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church in Santa Rosa, where she faithfully served in many capacities.
The family wishes to thank Olga Gutierrez, Elvia Livington, Tilly Chavez, Dee Andra Delgado, and Lisa Spear Salazar of the Spear Home for their attentive care during her last days.
Friends are encouraged to gather for a time of visitation on Friday from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM, with the family receiving friends from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the funeral home.
A Celebration of Esther’s life will be held at the First Baptist Church of Santa Rosa, 11:00 AM, Saturday, April 30, 2016.  Interment will follow at Restlawn Memorial Park in La Feria.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, PO Box 65, Santa Rosa, TX 78593 or the charity of one’s choice.

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