Elizabeth "Teddie" Reichert

Elizabeth (Teddie) Black Reichert, age 92, passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of August 22, 2015 in Austin, Texas. Elizabeth entered this world December 24, 1922, in Houston, Texas, the youngest of six children born to Lilian and Benjamin Black. Elizabeth (affectionately called "Libby" and/or "Teddie") and her five siblings (Mary, Bruce, Geny, Billy, and Hazel) maintained close relationships. Lilian Black passed away when Elizabeth was a young teen. She was quite close with her maternal aunts, Jewell and Sue Smith whom she visited every year of her life until they died.

She met Edward Lee Reichert, a Naval architect, at the shipyard in Houston, Texas where she worked at the age of 19 years. They were married in January of 1943. Elizabeth studied clothing and costume design in college and was an extraordinarily talented seamstress. She designed and created clothing for her husband, children, and for herself. She later studied photography at Rice University and the University of Houston and continued her passion for photography all of her life. "Teddie" and "Eddie" traveled to Europe together where he painted and she took photographs. Elizabeth also photographed and cataloged thousands of Edward's paintings and deferred the spotlight to his artwork, as opposed to her own.

In her 60's Elizabeth spent a month in San Miguel De Allende with her photography class and produced some beautiful and captivating works of art. "Teddie" and "Eddie" enjoyed a long marriage of nearly 69 years. Together, they had four children and four grandchildren. Edward passed away at the age of 92 in October of 2011. A year later, Elizabeth's first great-granddaughter (Hanna Elizabeth Reichert) was born, later to be joined by a great-grandson, Logan Edward Reichert in July of 2014.

In addition to photography, Elizabeth loved dancing, roller skating, swimming and diving, and was a lover of flowers and butterflies. "What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." (Richard Bach) She was particularly fond of Mountain Laurels, Rain trees, Loquats, and other exotic flowers, and loved to watch these grow. She was a lover of chocolate and strawberries and tolerated being teased about some humorous (related) events such as licking all of the chocolate off of an entire box of candy (as a child), and later (as an adult) laughing so hard she launched a toothpick from a strawberry across an art gallery lobby. (There was some champagne involved in the latter event.) Elizabeth was baptized at the First Methodist Church in Houston Texas and was a life-long member, attending weekly church and Sunday school classes until she and Edward moved to Canyon Lake in 1987.

Elizabeth is survived by her children: Roger (and wife, Gina), Tricia, David, and Julie Reichert; grandsons, Paul (and wife, Amber), Ian, Benjamin, and Dalton; and great-grandchildren, Hanna and Logan. She is also survived by nieces and nephews: Bonnie Hubly, Janet Noever, Bill Hardy, Lara Johnson, Joan Schott, Billy Black Jr., John McHatton, and Wayne McHatton, as well as several dear friends.

The family wishes to express gratitude to Tera and Simone and all the many loving caregivers of the Collinfield House in Austin for their care and devotion during the 3+ years our Mom resided there.

A graveside gathering at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery (Block 2, Lot 150) will be followed by a memorial service at the Collinfield House (9205 Collinfield Dr. 78758) in Austin, Texas on Saturday, August 29 at 12:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Elizabeth's name to a charity of your choice.