Elsie Alice Shelton was born March 7, 1922, in Central City, Nebraska, to Max Haley Shelton Sr. and Elsie Alice Quisenberry Shelton, the fourth of six children. As a very young woman she moved from the cold of Nebraska and riding horses on the family farm to the temperate climate of Santa Monica, California and riding bicycles on the Pacific Coast Highway. World War II accelerated the era of professional women, and Alice’s work ethic and managerial skills rapidly advanced her to a supervisory position at Douglas Aircraft, a major supplier of planes during World War II. She oversaw a large department of women much her senior and of longer tenure.
In 1945 she met her future husband, Raymond Powell, a sailor from Texas stationed in California. It was the Big Band Era. They often danced to live performances by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and to the singing of Doris Day. Their special song was “Sentimental Journey.” After the war Alice and Ray married and moved to Austin, Texas, where they raised their family. Mrs. Powell was an especially dedicated mother and wife, and her children were her greatest pride in life. Her love of children motivated her to be a neighborhood captain when the March of Dimes’ Mothers’ March against polio was founded in 1950. She continued her efforts every year for many years, even after the polio vaccines had reduced the threat of that dreaded disease. As her family matured she resumed her career, working at The University of Texas, first at the Little Campus and then inside the tower on an upper floor. Mrs. Powell took great pride in her work at UT. She was active in the Order of the Eastern Star, the Social Order of the Beauceant, and the Daughters of the Nile. She was a member of First United Methodist Church in Austin.
Mrs. Powell was predeceased by her beloved husband Raymond Jacob Powell, Jr., in 2005 and by their beloved youngest child Stella Marie Powell in 2014. Mrs. Powell is survived by her sister Marie Lee of Houston, daughter AlRae Huseman and son-in-law Van Huseman of Corpus Christi, son James Powell of Austin, son Bryan Powell of Georgetown, granddaughter Heidi Huseman of Corpus Christi, grandson Shandy Powell-Smith of Austin, and many nieces and
nephews.
Graveside service Friday, March 31, at 11:00 a.m., Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Cemetery, Masonic Garden Section, Pflugerville, Rev. Don Long officiating. Memorials to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, 2222 Welborn Street, Dallas, TX 75219.
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