Elizabeth Pederson Ruefli

Elizabeth Pederson Ruefli was born September 9, 1937, in Angleton, Texas, and died Saturday, April 22, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Elizabeth was the third of four children born to Thomas Womack Pederson and Bessie Faye Potts. Bessie died when Elizabeth was seven years old. Elizabeth and her younger brother Bill went to live with their grandparents in Oklahoma. She and her siblings rejoined their father later in childhood and lived in El Paso. Elizabeth went to the nursing school at Houston's Hermann Hospital and became a nurse. While at Hermann Hospital, she met Roy Leamon, who was in his orthopedic surgery residency there. They were married in 1960 and moved to Lufkin, Texas, where they had three children: Roy, Rebecca, and Mike. In Lufkin, Elizabeth was active in the Junior League and the Episcopal Church. She helped set up a Human Relations Council to facilitate improved civil rights in Lufkin during the tumultuous late 1960s. She worked as a volunteer on Frances "Sissy" Farenthold's gubernatorial campaign in 1972. Elizabeth always valued education highly. While in Lufkin, she attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches and received a bachelor's degree in English. In 1972, the family moved to Austin to expand its horizons. Elizabeth attended the University of Texas and received a Master's degree in English. Continuing her political involvement, she was a volunteer lobbyist for Common Cause. Several years after she and Roy divorced, Elizabeth married Tim Ruefli, a professor at the UT business school; they remained together until his death in 2010. She became a stepmother to Chad and Tia Ruefli. Together, Elizabeth and Tim traveled, cooked gourmet meals, entertained, and nurtured a variety of cats and dogs. Elizabeth continued her education, receiving a PhD in Psychiatric Nursing from UT. She practiced as a therapist and grief counselor at Hospice Austin. The experience of losing her own mother at an early age brought special depth to her counseling. After Tim's death, Elizabeth lived independently for many years, but health issues led to her becoming a resident of Westminster Manor, where she lived until her passing. Elizabeth leaves her five children and stepchildren, as well as five grandchildren: Sofia and Grayson (children of Chad and Laura Ruefli), Kieran and Skylar (children of Tia and Mike Hilmer), and Luke (child of Roy and Robyn Leamon). Elizabeth was a highly intelligent and strongly independent woman, including in times and places when these were not valued traits in women. The family is grateful to her caretakers, and especially to her daughter Rebecca for her devoted care throughout Elizabeth's later years. Donations in Elizabeth's memory may be made to Hospice Austin. https://www.hospiceaustin.org/get-involved/donate/

Elizabeth Pederson Ruefli

September 9, 1937 - April 22, 2023