Lillian E. Myers, 99, beloved mother, peacefully went home to the Lord the morning of July 20, 2022, at her home in Georgetown, Texas. Her daughter, Christina Myers-Shaffer, was with her when she passed. Lillian was married to Ellis T. Myers for over 70 years at the time of his passing in 2014.

Born on Dec. 16, 1922, in Steubenville, Ohio, Lillian was the daughter of William Edward Ott Sr., and Edna May Gill. 

She was predeceased by her two older brothers, William Ott Jr., and Charles Ott; and her two younger brothers, James Ott and Gilbert Ott.

A faith-filled Christian, Lillian deeply believed that although she was born in 1922, her real birthday was on Sunday, Sept. 10, 1939, when she and her four brothers were baptized into the Lord Jesus in Christian Baptism and raised in newness of life at the Unionport Christian Church in Ohio.

After graduating from Hopedale High School in 1940, Lillian worked as a legal secretary in a law office in Cadiz. There, she met a persistent young man in a cowboy hat and boots named Ellis T. Myers, who was in the oil and gas business. She refused to date him. Lillian was very close to her maternal grandfather and when she heard he passed away, she immediately quit her job and raced home to console her mother. Several weeks later, after an extensive search for the beautiful Lillian Ott, Ellis T. Myers knocked at her door. Lillian’s brother Jim later recalled, “Sis never stood a chance.” Lillian and Ellis were married in 1944.

Shortly after their marriage, Ellis went into the military and Lillian joined her brother Jim, who was still single, on the family farm. For the next three years, this brother and sister team helped on the farm, became active church leaders mentoring youth groups and conducting Bible studies, hosting get-togethers, and on weekends dancing together at their uncle’s restaurant. They danced so well together that other patrons would clear the dance floor to watch Lillian and Jim dance. Jim (who grew to become a master mechanic, well-known hunter, and trainer of award-winning coon dogs) formed a bond that lasted until Jim passed away in April of this year.

Ellis returned from Japan, and he and Lillian briefly lived in Canton, Ohio, near Meyers Lake Park. Lillian loved having her youngest brother Bert, who brought the room to life wherever he went, join them to work with Ellis transporting pipe to drilling rigs. On cool summer evenings, Lillian could hear the big bands, such as Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, playing at the outdoor stage in the park. However, when her father-in-law (Gaily Myers, who had been operating the natural gas public utility company that Ellis owned in Harrison County) became terminally ill, they moved to Bowerston, Ohio, to care for him. At that time, Lillian (still in her 20s) began work for the Ellis T. Myers Gas Company and eventually operated the company until it was sold in 1986. She deeply loved the people of Bowerston and the surrounding communities, and often said that she thanked the Lord for giving her the opportunity to serve them for so many years. 

During her years at Bowerston, in addition to being a businesswoman, she grew gardens, canned, and sewed. She would take her daughter on adventures, such as looking for wild strawberries, then making jam, and going fossil hunting. She played the piano and was self-taught on the accordion. Everything she touched had a sense of style, good taste, and thinking outside the box. She was an excellent cook, often developing original recipes, had an eye for fashion, and was a skilled markswoman.

Lillian was an artist at heart. She sculpted human figures and was a potter. Her paintings were hung in the halls of Kent State University while she pursued an art education degree. At the end of her four-year program, she was initiated into Kappa Delta Pi.

In 1977, Lillian and Ellis moved to New Philadelphia, Ohio, where she was a member of the First Christian Church., then moved to Georgetown, Texas, in 1994 and became part of the Georgetown Church of Christ. In Georgetown, Lillian remained active as an artist. Her father had taught her and her brother Bill (a much-loved father figure, who went horseback riding with her as youngsters) architectural drawing and design, skills that she used to plan her homes in Bowerston (which her father built) and New Philadelphia, and then used to design a studio at her home in Texas.

She became a published poet in the late 1990s and began working with her daughter in educational writing. At the age of 92, Lillian developed a set of educational crossword puzzles that were published in Barron’s SAT Subject Test Literature book. Her life of service continued, also. She served as a docent each year at the Georgetown Quilt Show until the age of 96.

Lillian was a loyal and caring daughter, protective and understanding sister, devoted and faithful wife, and tender and supportive mother who never hesitated to make personal sacrifices for those around her. Truly, her heart was at the center of every relationship she had. She loved each one in her life with all her heart.

How to sum up the life of Lillian E. Myers? She has been and is a loving child of God. Proverbs 31:10-31

Lillian will be laid to rest next to her husband at the Oddfellows (IOOF) Cemetery in Georgetown, Texas.