Lillian Elizabeth Illig

Lillian Horlock Illig, age 102, of Houston, died at her home on the 21st of October 2011. Lillian was born in Navasota, Texas, on the 14th of May 1909, to Lillian Rose Fisher and Arthur Gregg Horlock. She was the granddaughter of Agnes Mason White and Colonel Robert A. Horlock, for whom the Horlock House, a historical museum in Navasota, Texas, is named. Lillian, her parents, and younger brother, Fisher, moved to Houston in 1914 to live with Lillian’s maternal grandparents, Charles Nicholas Fisher and the former, Elizabeth Ann Upsher. The Fishers lived at 416 McKinney near the downtown library. One of Lillian’s earliest memories was hearing the cheering downtown when World War I ended.

At age 18, Lillian was elected by the Houston Girl Scouts as a representative to the First International Girl Scout Camp in Geneva, Switzerland. While at the camp in Geneva, Lillian wrote articles for the Houston Chronicle. She attended Central High School, Rice Institute, and in 1930, graduated from Rice with a B.A. degree. At Rice, Lillian was a member of Owen Wister Literary Society, elected to the May Fete, and chosen as a Rice Beauty. She was a member of the Honor Council and, as President of the Women’s Council, she was one of four selected to unveil the statue of William Marsh Rice.

In 1933, Lillian married the late Carl Illig, whom she had met at Rice. Carl later became associate general counsel for Humble Oil & Refining Company, (now ExxonMobil). An active member of the community, Lillian was a charter member of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church and the Women’s Auxilary to the Houston Bar, and she later served as president of the Friends of Fondren Library at Rice.

Lillian was well known in Houston for her artistry in arranging flowers and for her techniques in drying flowers. She helped found the Tanglewood Garden Club in 1951, and she lectured throughout the area on flowers, herbs and the philosophy of “Making-Do,” “Using Up,” and “Recycling.” In her lectures, she advocated reversal of wasteful and negligent throw-away practices. She published articles in House Beautiful, Fine Gardening, and Texas Gardener on herbs and flowers. In the last decade of her life she was still writing on such subjects as “Be Happy: Plant Tomatoes;” “Hungry for Color” and “How to Make Bougainvillea Bloom.” Her last two articles were “Making Compost” published at age 98, in the 2007 November/December issue of Texas Gardener, and “Cuttings—Having Lots of Flowers Free,” published at age 99 in the 2008 issue of the same magazine.

Lillian is survived by three children: Elaine Davis and husband, Frank B. Davis; Carol Lake and husband, Sim Lake; Dale Illig and wife, Sandra Illig of Georgetown, Texas; six grandchildren: Barrett Davis and wife, Nancy Davis; Doris Davis of Los Angeles, California; Timothy Lake and wife, Jordan Lake, MD, also of Los Angeles, California; Justin Lake and wife, Natasha Lake, MD; Elizabeth Illig of Dallas; and Carl Philip Illig of Round Rock; and four great grandchildren: Mattie Lillian Davis, Robin Kate Davis, Katelyn Elizabeth Illig of Round Rock; and Caroline Elaine Lake.

The family would like to thank Lillian’s companions and caregivers: Raul Lopez of Mexico City, Miriam and Marco Sosa, Esmeralda Ramos, Freda Burton, Erin Burton, Lillian Edwards, Loretta Lewis, Kathy Lewis, and Regina Smith.

All are invited to gather with the family for a graveside service and interment to be conducted at half-past noon on Thursday, the 27th of October, at Glenwood Cemetery, 2525 Washington Avenue in Houston.

A Memorial service is to follow at two o’clock in the afternoon at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston, where the Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr., Rector, is to officiate. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent Bagby Parish Hall.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family respectfully requests that friends make contributions to St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Rd. Houston, TX, 77056; Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council, 3110 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX, 77098-4508; the Rice Fondren Library, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892; or to the charity of one’s choice.

To paraphrase the poem by W.H. Auden: “Earth receive an honored guest/ Lillian Illig is laid to rest.”