Lela Elise Aulgur Huntsman, age 96, entered into rest on Friday, November 20, 2020 in Michigan. She was born on August 12, 1924. Elise was born in the Rocksprings, Texas, jail where her father, Ernest Aulgur, was deputy sheriff and her mother, Adele Sauer Aulgur, kept house. She and her parents survived the great tornado that devastated the hill country town a few years later. Even at her young age she remembered the impact the storm had on her father. He would leave that position, buying land along the Las Moras Creek near Brackettville, where he worked at Ft. Clark. There Elise would spend her childhood years. Two sisters would be added to the family, Anna (Biddy), and Ernestine. When she was twelve the family moved to Marfa (she would later say she never saw the Lights) and then on to San Rafael, California, where her father worked in civil service and her mother taught school. Elise graduated High School and attended Junior College in San Rafael. After two years she moved back to Brackettville. It was at Ft. Clark she would meet her future husband, Emet (Sonny) Huntsman. The two were married just before he shipped out to the Philippines in WWII. When Emet returned after the war, the couple moved to Winters, Texas, where they learned the floral business from Emet's aunt. It was in Winters their first child, Emet III, was born. In 1947, they moved to Crystal City, Texas, and opened a floral business. Two daughters would be born to the family, Mary Adele (Mimi) and Else Lee. Those were good years. The floral business prospered. Emet went to work with Asgrow Seed Company while Elise ran the business out of their home, taking care of three children as well. In 1955 Emet took a promotion with Asgrow to the San Antonio office, so they sold the floral business and moved to the Alamo City. Always wanting to better herself, Elise went back to college, graduating with honors in a teaching degree from Trinity University. She taught elementary school where she excelled in programs helping children do better in math. She pioneered a process that helped children with their math skills by having them crawl on all fours. The coordination learned boosted their math skills as well. It was during this time Elise was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was at a time such a diagnosis was tantamount to a death sentence. But Elise would not let self-pity take control of her life. She was fortunate to receive treatment at the newly opened Methodist Hospital in San Antonio. She would recover. Then a second diagnosis of breast cancer. More surgery and treatments followed. And again, she beat it. She was a woman of strong faith. Emet's job with Asgrow would see them move to Des Moines, Iowa, and eventually Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was there Emet would retire and they moved back to Brackettville. They bought one of the old buildings on Ft. Clark and had it renovated into a beautiful home. Elise continued teaching, taking a position in Del Rio before retiring, herself. Elise loved to travel. She took a trip to Europe with her two daughters and aunt, Else Sauer. She and Emet visited their son while he was stationed in Germany and the three drove a rented car across the continent. She visited the town in Switzerland where her ancestors migrated from to Texas in 1846. She returned to Europe with her granddaughter, Jodi Garrelts, touring Greece, and the Mediterranean. She made several trips to Oaxaca, Mexico, with her sister Biddy and on one occasion took two of her granddaughters, Shelley, and Sara, with her. Elise loved the family ranch and was a passionate friend of the Las Moras. Her family held primary water rights on the creek and when those rights were threatened, she fought tooth and nail to preserve them. And she won! She was always ready to help anyone in need. A foreign exchange student from the Republic of Georgia who wanted to remain in the U.S. to go to college received regular financial help. A child whose family could not afford the music instrument so she could take lessons found herself in possession of the instrument of her choice, the only stipulation that when she was done it be passed to another who needed it. And Elise loved. nothing more than taking her great-grandchildren shopping for school clothes. She considered her life a blessing to be used to bless others. Elise loved to read, especially detective and spy novels. She read all of Tony Hillerman's books. She was a big fan of John Grisham and Vince Flynn. Even as dementia was beginning to take its toll on her ever-sharp mind, Elise solved puzzles and played word games. She never went anywhere that she did not have a Sudoku or crossword puzzle book in her bag. Elise spent the last two years in Kalamazoo, Michigan with her daughter, Else and son-in-law, Geoff. Her advancing dementia took its toll but she still found comfort and enjoyment in the little things in life, watching hummingbirds and butterflies while sitting on the front porch or in the sunroom, or having a good hotdog and ice cream. At the end, the care and compassion she received from the staff at Rose Arbor Hospice was truly appreciated. She passed peacefully with loved ones at her side. Elise was preceded in death by her husband, Emet, and sister, Biddy Legg. She is survived by their son, Emet B. (Sue) Huntsman III of Canyon Lake, TX; daughters Mimi (Richard) Garrelts of Odessa, NE; and Else (Geoffrey) Hammond of Schoolcraft, MI. She is also survived by grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Shelley (Jerry) Jones, Makayla, Kindra, David and Cole; Sean (Lauren) Huntsman, Addison and Luke; Richard (Alyssa) Garrelts, Jr., and Richard III, Rena, and Ruth Anne; Jodi Garrelts.Sara (Evan) O'Dell and Zayden, Desmond, and Killian. Mom, we are blessed having known you. Give Dad a Hug and kiss for us. See you again. Visitation will be held on Sunday, November 29, 2020 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Brackettville Sunset Funeral Home in Brackettville, TX. Funeral service will be held on Monday, November 30, 2020 at 10:00 AM at the First United Methodist Church located at 105 James St., Brackettville, TX. Interment will follow at the Aulgur family ranch cemetery.