Eloise Trigg, Brown County native, passed away November 3, 2009, at the age of 82, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Mary Eloise Wood was born December 9, 1926, to Presley and Iva Wood and grew up in Brownwood. She graduated from Brownwood High School in 1944. She received a bachelor’s degree from Howard Payne University in 1948 and later earned a master’s degree in art, also from Howard Payne. She did further study in art at Texas Tech’s adjunct campus in Junction. She was named Howard Payne’s Coming Home Queen in 2007.
Eloise Wood married Charlie Trigg in Brownwood on June 7, 1947, beginning a partnership that would last 62 years.
In 1962, Eloise began a 32-year career teaching art at Howard Payne, beginning as an instructor and rising to the rank of professor. She became head of the art department in 1987, a position she held until 1994.
Eloise was active in Brownwood’s cultural life for many years, and through her involvement with the Community Cultural Affairs Commission, she was instrumental in bringing art exhibits, theater and dance troupes, and orchestras and other musical groups to the city. In 1981, she was named Outstanding Woman of the Year for her work as co-chair of the first Pecan Valley Arts Festival. She also worked with the Texas Historical Commission to restore the Coggin-McClelland building on the old Daniel Baker campus.
Eloise was a long-time active member of the Austin Avenue Church of Christ, where she will be remembered for the many beautiful floral arrangements she created, as well as for her work as a Sunday school teacher and chorus member.
She had a zest for living and for experiencing new and exciting things, such as para-sailing in her late sixties. She enjoyed painting, cooking, and interior decorating. She also loved to travel, especially in her capacity as teacher, introducing her students to the world of art in museums throughout the United States and Europe.
Eloise is survived by her husband Charlie Trigg; her daughter Carolyn Trigg and husband Joe Haggard of Austin; her son Mike Trigg and wife Stephanie Reese of San Antonio; her son Tim Trigg and friend Katrina Williamson of Brownwood; her sister Joy Gabel and husband Mike of Phoenix; her brother “Cotton” Wood and wife Margaret of Brownwood; her grandchildren Michelle Gutierrez, Charles Trigg, and Genevieve Haggard; and her great-granddaughter Kylie Gutierrez.
Eloise was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Stephen R. Wood.
A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m., November 7, 2009 at Austin Avenue Church of Christ, 1020 Austin Avenue in Brownwood, Texas.
Condolences, memories, and tributes can be left for the family at www.mem.com
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made toward the restoration of the Brownwood Lyric Theater, P.O. Box 68, Brownwood, Texas, 76804. The Lyric Theater was the site of Eloise and Charlie’s first date.
