Barbara Jean Sanders

Barbara Jean Sanders, known and loved as Austin’s Hub Cap Annie, lost her battle with lung cancer on Saturday, September 9, 2017 at the age of 77. She passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family. Barbara was born in Tennessee on March 30, 1940, to Roy Lee Sanders and Adeline (Humphrey) Sanders. She was the fifth of six children and is survived by four of her siblings, Mary Pritchett, Nancy Lee Utley, Caroline Letson, and Tom Sanders. Also surviving her are her children, son Don and his wife Marianne, daughter Jamie, and daughter Brigette and her husband Chuck. She also leaves behind six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Roy Lee Sanders, Jr.

Barbara worked in Civil Service on Whidbey Island, WA, for several years before becoming a legal secretary in the office of the District Attorney in Coupeville, WA. She and her family moved to Austin, TX, in 1977 and she worked for a prominent local law firm. In 1980, her entrepreneurial spirit led her to become a business woman and she opened Hub Cap Annie on North Lamar. She quickly became an Austin icon. She appeared on the premier episode of television’s Real People, was listed as a notable woman of Texas and was written about many times in local papers and other publications. Hub Cap Annie was featured in the musical Keepin’ It Weird at the Zach Scott Theatre in 2005 as an integral part of the fabric of Austin, where unique individuality is celebrated. Barbara, referred to by many family and friends simply as “Annie,” was a unique, hat-wearing, loving, determined, always ready to help, creative individual. She was ahead of her time as a female business owner in a field many thought of as male territory. Annie retired in 2007, but was still often to be found giving advice or chatting up customers at the shop, which continued in her daughter Brigette’s capable hands. In retirement, she continued her long-time passion of creating beautiful quilts and was a member of the Austin Quilt Guild. She loved animals and frequently rescued stray dogs and cats, especially those that showed up at the shop. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

Friends, family and all whose lives were touched by Annie are invited to Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar Blvd., to share memories and celebrate her life on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 from 4:00-8:00 PM. She will be laid to rest at Memphis Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens in Bartlett, TN. Donations may be made in her memory to Austin Animal Center, or any no kill shelter.

To share condolences with the family, please visit www.cookwaldenfuneralhome.com.