Ethelyne "EF" Bernay Reese Bizilo

She was born May 25, 1924, in Brownwood, Texas to Louis Quilla “Bud” and Tennie P. Cash Reese. She spent part of her childhood in the Indian Creek community outside Brownwood, where her mother taught school, and the remainder of her childhood and early adult life in Brownwood, Texas. She attended Howard Payne University there, a family tradition.

She met her husband John Bizilo in 1945 when he was an Army platoon sergeant stationed at Camp Bowie in Brownwood and she was a United Service Organization (USO) volunteer. They were married on July 15, 1946 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Brownwood and lived there until 1949, when they moved to Midland where John began teaching. While in Midland, Ethelyne was employed as a draftswoman for Texaco. She was a member of First Baptist Church of Midland.

Among her many hobbies were bird watching, fishing, stained glass works artistry, and traveling. Ethelyne and John enjoyed traveling throughout America and Mexico, and had sighted and logged more than 500 species of birds in their bird watching ventures. They purchased a recreational vehicle for such ventures, and it was Ethelyne’s job to plan, prepare, and drive during their outings. The couple spent many vacations at Rockport on the Texas coast with her mother and sister as guests. Ethelyne enjoyed visiting Ruidoso and Hobbs, New Mexico, as she enjoyed gambling and collected Indian jewelry of turquoise and coral.

She was an accomplished stained glass artist, creating many beautiful glass hangings which she gave as gifts. She also took classes in cake decorating and jewelry crafting. An avid collector, Ethelyne had coin, doll, and Hummel figurine collections; with her sister Alta, she collected over 300 beanie babies in the 1990s when they were extremely popular.

Survivors include her nephew David Bullion and wife Susie of Austin; nieces Linda Smith and husband Rick of Austin and Liz Holmsley and husband Steve of San Antonio; nine great nieces and nephews, and six great-great nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank Dr. Gregory Bartha of Midland for his many years of care and support, and the team from Hospice Austin for their compassion and excellent care during Ethylene’s last few weeks. Special thanks to her home health caregivers Sharene Swindall in Midland and Nikki Hervey and Susie Victor in Austin. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to Hospice Austin or Hospice Midland.

Visitation will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at the Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home in Austin, Texas.

Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, April 26, 2012 in the Chapel of Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home with the Rev. Don Long officiating. Burial will follow at 2:30 p.m. at Greenleaf Cemetery in Brownwood, Texas.

Honoring Ethelyne as pallbearers are her nephews David Bullion, Steve Holmsley, and Rick Smith, and great-nephews Ben Holmsley, David Smith, Brett Bullion, Chris Bullion, and Shane Bullion.