Carolyn Marie (Crenwelge) Endsley

Carolyn Marie (Crenwelge) Endsley passed away April 11, 2024, in Georgetown, Texas, at age 81 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease.

A memorial service will be held on June 15, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at the Georgetown Church of Christ, 1525 West University Avenue, Georgetown, Texas.

Carolyn was born on July 1, 1942, in Houston, Texas, to John Theodore Crenwelge and Dorothy Irene Gray. She recalled enjoying growing up with her older brother Ted Crenwelge (b.1938) and many first and second cousins nearby and spending summers in Fredericksburg, Texas, with her grandmother, aunt and other members of her father’s German-rooted family.

Carolyn was a 1960 graduate of Houston’s Stephen F. Austin High School where she was a member of the Scottish Brigade drill team. She was a 1964 graduate of Abilene Christian University (then College) where she earned a degree in elementary education and was a member of the Ko Jo Kai women’s social club.

While at Abilene Christian, Carolyn met Albert Cummings Endsley and they married on April 17, 1965 in Houston, where they initially settled. Accepting a new job for Al, they moved in 1966 to Austin, where daughter Bonnie Carol was soon born, followed by daughter Malissa Marie. In 1977, the family moved to the countryside east of Georgetown near Jonah where they restored an old farmhouse and raised pecans.

As a smart, creative and flexible Texas public school teacher, Carolyn had the unusual privilege of teaching elementary, junior high and high school students during her career. Her first job was teaching third grade in Houston. With a fondness for awkward junior high schoolers, she taught seventh grade math and honors math at Georgetown Junior High for about 15 years. Trying something new in her last few years of teaching, she particularly enjoyed working with the students at Richarte High School, Georgetown’s alternative campus.

Carolyn was a very active church and community organization volunteer, leader and supporter as long as she was able. She taught Sunday school at the Highland Village Church of Christ in Austin and the Georgetown Church of Christ, where she also sang on the a cappella praise team with a lovely soprano voice. In the 1970s, she developed and published a children’s Bible school curriculum called “Thy Children Shall Be Taught of God.”

Shortly after the Williamson County Historical Museum was established, she served on its Board of Directors from 1999-2006. She took responsibility for fundraising and became the board president from 2001-2005, helping to lay the foundation for what is now The Williamson Museum. She also served many years as a volunteer board member and president for Jonah Community Inc. The association preserved the 1922 Jonah School at State Hwy 29 E and CR 126 as a community hub for 4-H, scouting, and Extension Service programs; family reunions; church services; and other community events.

Carolyn also combined her love of history, antiques and service for a time by operating antique mall booths in Round Rock and Bartlett and assisting elderly family, friends and contacts with estate sales. A faithful daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, Carolyn is missed by the many people who loved her and whose lives she impacted.

Carolyn is survived by her husband of 58 years, Al Endsley; daughters, Bonnie Endsley (David Larkin) of Seattle, Washington, and Malissa Todd (Gerald Todd) of Gilbert, Arizona; granddaughters Hannah Horick and Leah Horick of Georgetown, Texas; sisters-in-law Julia “Julie” Starling of Tyler, Texas, and Elsie Endsley of Tomball, Texas; and other extended family.

She was preceded in death by her parents; brother; sister-in-law Martha Jane Crenwelge; brothers-in-law John Roy Endsley Jr. and Jimmie Starling; nephew John Roy Endsley III; and other loved ones.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Georgetown Church of Christ; Foster’s Home for Children in Stephenville, Texas, or The Williamson Museum in Georgetown.

Carolyn’s family would like to thank the caring staff of Brookdale Senior Living in Georgetown for their kindness and support over the past three years.