Guinevere Elaine Mclarty

Guinevere Elaine (Whisenhunt) McLarty, age 103, of Lake Whitney passed away peacefully on October 7, 2023, at her river house in Ballinger. She was born on October 10, 1919, in Ater, Texas to Ausie and Willie (Stockton) Whisenhunt.  She was the eldest of three daughters.

After receiving a teaching certificate from Tarleton College, she began her first job at a small seven-grade ranching community school at Harmon.  There were no buses and no extra-curricular activities for the students.  The ranching families provided lunch for everyone each day and she asked the trustees to clear land for a softball field and put up basketball goals. She became their coach. She also created a choral group at the school.

She married her high school sweetheart, Seth McLarty, and they began their family in Menard.  Later they moved to Ballinger where they would fall in love with the community and its people.  They joined the 1st Methodist Church where she and Seth sang in the choir and he served as an elder.  They opened their own business, the Western Auto, and it became a popular shopping place with the addition of children’s toys and bicycles.  After working several years at the store and for several other businesses as a bookkeeper, a hospital board chairman hired her to revamp the bookkeeping system at Ballinger Memorial Hospital.  A few years later she became their administrator where she finished out 20 years of service.  She and Jay Grindstaff created the first Ladies Hospital Auxiliary which is still active today.  She also served as the president of the West Texas Hospital Association and represented them serving as the only woman with 19 men on the Texas Hospital Association Board.  She and Seth purchased land and went into the cattle business and enjoyed many years as ranchers.  After Seth passed away Gwen retired from the hospital but continued ranching.  She also began traveling, visiting ranching families in Australia and touring the countryside in France.  Local rancher and close friend, Sally Buxkemper, invited her to a Simmental meeting in Conroe one spring.  It was there that she met a rancher from Bosque County named Fred Owen.  After a five-year courtship, they tied the knot and enjoyed many happy years on his ranch at Lake Whitney.  They even hosted a Texas-style BBQ for author James A. Michener and his wife, Mari, whom they had met on a cruise.  They were very active in the Bosque Art Center and she served as docent at the Bosque Museum.  They made many lasting friendships there.

She had a zest for life and was always looking for a new adventure.  She met every challenge with a positive attitude and the confidence to accomplish her goals.  She always said, “Your Genes Load the Pistol and Your Lifestyle Pulls the Trigger”.  And these were the words she lived by.

Gwen was preceded in death by her husbands, her sisters, Hermoine Ashby and husband Seaborn, and Azalea Kirkpatrick, and granddaughter, Jessica Buxkemper Saucedo.

She is survived by her three children:  Pam Barrett of Austin, Sam McLarty and Laura Whitworth of Boerne, Kim (Robert) Buxkemper of Ballinger.  Also by grandchildren: Jenny (James) Bouwer of Wombarra, Australia, Liza (Dan) Irion of Taos, NM, Eric McLarty of Boerne, Cody (Christie) McLarty of Kansas City, KS, Jarrett (Jen) Buxkemper of Silverthorne, CO, Jamie (Dustin) Martin of Fair Oaks Ranch, and Jayton Buxkemper of Austin.  Also by great-grandchildren: Ella and Lillian Bouwer, Cyrus and Cash Irion, Si McLarty, James and John McLarty, Summit and Stadler Martin.

She also leaves behind special friends: Gary Morgan, JJ Frambe, Greg and Susan Schwertner, and James Moeller. And blessed angels who took such great and loving care of her: Rose Galvan, Joelda Cuellar, LuAnn Moore, Mary Lou Luna, and the staff of Ballinger Home Health and Hospice.

Gwen’s world was centered around her family and friends.  The grandchildren loved going to stay at Memaw and Pawpaw’s house.  There was always plenty of hunting, fishing, dancing, dressing up, board games, and lots of homemade ice cream and cookies.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a favorite charity in Gwen’s honor. A private celebration of life will be held at a later date.