Anita Bess (Jackson) Caraway, 88, of Marble Falls and Llano died April 1, 2017

Anita Bess (Jackson) Caraway passed away peacefully in her sleep on April 1, 2017, at Gateway Assisted Living in Marble Falls, Texas. She had been a resident of Llano for 33 years after moving from Brownfield, Texas. 

Anita is survived by her daughter, Darla James and husband Gary; granddaughter, Michele Goodner and husband Shad; great-granddaughters, Olivia, Jaden, and Lila Goodner; and her always adored big brother, Robert “Bob” Jackson, and his children, Jeanette Davidson, Paulette Heimer, Robert Jackson Jr., and Craig Jackson.

She was born on April 16, 1928, in Breckenridge, Texas, to Robert and Bess (Owens) Jackson. Sadly, she was only 6 when her father died; she adored him and remembers him calling her “Scooter.” Her mother later married B. Frank Craig, who was a loving stepfather to Anita and her older brother, Bob. They moved to a farm in Weatherford, where she recalled a childhood of country fun and nourished what became a lifelong devotion to animals of all kinds with both beloved personal pets and regular contributions to various organizations.

After graduating from Weatherford High School, in 1945, she met W.O. “Bill” Caraway while attending Texas Wesleyan College. The couple married Oct. 11, 1946, and welcomed their only child, Darla Catherine, the following year. Anita’s devotion to being the best possible mother and wife she could be can be measured a success based on the incredible love and adoration her husband and daughter felt for her. She would also be a loving grandmother to Michele, who spent time in the summers and traveling with her — the two held a very special bond.

The young family first lived in Fort Worth but would move several times with Bill’s career in education: first to Lake Arthur, New Mexico, then back to Texas — Joshua, Elysian Fields, Longview, Hereford, Houston, and then Brownfield. While in Houston, Anita attended the University of Houston and graduated cum laude. She later received her Master in Library Science at East Texas State University and became the librarian at Brownfield Middle School and Bill the superintendent for Brownfield ISD.

After Bill retired in 1980, the couple moved to the Hill Country with plans to build their retirement home in the area. They had a fixer-upper on Lake LBJ (Sunrise Beach) that would be their home until then. Anita had accepted a position with Llano ISD as the elementary librarian when, tragically, Bill passed away in July 1982. Anita continued with her plans to start her new job the next month and began the task of establishing a library in the historic O’Henry building.  Widowed at only 54, Anita welcomed the consuming endeavor to help as a distraction while mourning the loss of her beloved Bill.

Anita also moved forward by designing and building their dream home in 1984. She had designed the couple’s homes, so she sub-contracted the construction and did much of the finish work herself. It seemed to her family that Anita could do anything she set her mind to. She created recipes, designed and sewed clothes for the family and home with professional skill, painted in watercolor and oil, sculpted, did all forms of handwork, and even learned to hang drywall and lay tile!

Anita was very active at Highland Lakes United Methodist Church, using her drafting knowledge when serving on the committee that planned and constructed the church’s building. She still loved teaching and gave classes in stained glass to interested church members. She also organized and led several group trips to Branson, Missouri.

Both Anita and her brother Bob were endowed with a love of knowledge as well as an indomitable spirit of independence. Whether it was traveling through Alaska in her first RV with her granddaughter, cat, dog, and a shotgun or many summers of living in an RV in the cool mountains of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, she was known and admired for her passion to live a full life.

As a proud member of the “Greatest Generation,” she was a woman who always stood by her principles and worked hard at life and fun. She was an incredibly generous, caring, and a loving woman to all her family and friends. She will long be both mourned and celebrated by those whose lives she helped guide — and will live on in their hearts.

Anita desired to be cremated. There will be a memorial gathering at 1 p.m. Friday, April 7, at Waldrope-Hatfield-Hawthorne Funeral Home, 307 E. Sandstone in Llano, (325) 247-4300, to celebrate her life and share memories and strength with family and friends. Anita would have appreciated donations to local pet shelters or the American Heart Association in lieu of flowers.

Email whhfuneral1@verizon.net with condolences.