Obituary of Carolyn Eslyta Cobb Birdwell
Carolyn Eslyta Cobb Birdwell, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and sister, born on May 25, 1939, in Dallas, Texas, to Eslyta Pickens and Charles Donald Cobb, passed away on Tuesday, November 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents, Eslyta and Charles. She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Alfred Evans Birdwell, Jr. of Houston, Texas; her daughter, Carolyn (Carrie) Birdwell Corson, and her husband Carl, of Houston; her son, Christopher (Chris) Birdwell and his wife Becky, also of Houston; her “adopted” Swedish daughter, Unni Jerndal, of Stockholm; her precious grandchildren, Emeline Birdwell, Vaughn Corson and Benjamin Corson; and her brother, Richard Pickens Cobb, who resides in Lampasas, Texas.
Carolyn’s father was one of HL Hunt’s landmen, and as a result lived in several different cities in Texas growing up, including: Dallas, Corpus Christi and Midland. She graduated from Hillcrest High School in Dallas, Texas in 1957. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in elementary education in 1964. She was an active member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.
She and Alfred married June 9, 1962, in Austin, Texas, at St David’s Episcopal Church and together they built a life that included 2 children, 3 grandchildren, lots of great parties, dinners out, trips to Mexico and some to Europe, as well as various dogs, cats and at one point some rabbits. Over the years, in addition to Houston, they had homes in Lake Conroe, Galveston and Hockley, Texas.
Carolyn taught 4th grade in the Austin ISD for a brief time. As she and Al raised their children, she was an integral part of their lives and their schools, including River Oaks Elementary, St. Anne’s School, St. John’s School, and their extra-ciricular activities, including Camp Fire Girls troop leader, Boy Scouts Troop 55, St. John’s School’s foreign student exchange program, St. John the Divine Church, and various team sports. Once her kids were teenagers, she reentered the workforce and held a number of volunteer and paid positions including, Chairman of the Board at St. James House, in Baytown, Chairman at The Guild Shop, and a sales associate at Marshall Fields, and she was Alfred’s office assistant at his business until their eventual retirement.
Carolyn was a creative individual, always loving to paint and play the piano. Even in her later years, she took a weekly piano lesson and enjoyed playing for her family and friends.
A funeral service honoring Carolyn’s life will be held at 12:00 noon on Saturday, December 2, in the Chapel at St. John the Divine Church, 2450 River Oaks Boulevard, in Houston.
