Marion Woodrow Sharp and Faustina Clotilda Christilles
Wedding Photo, 1940 50th Anniversary, 1990
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Sharp Family Home- Castroville, Texas
(Historic Jean Merian Haus. Presently the Castroville Chamber of Commerce)
Marion Woodrow Sharp
Birth: 11 April 1915 Dora, Ozark, Missouri, USA
Death: 15 November 1995 Castroville, Medina, Texas, USA
Married: 24 July 1940 St. Mary's Church, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Education: BS Oklahoma State University, Doctorate Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M
Faustina Clotilda Christilles
Born: 9 February 1917 La Coste, Medina, Texas, USA
Death: 30 January 2016 Castroville, Medina, Texas, USA
Education: Graduate Ursuline Academy, San Antonio, Texas
Eulogy, read by Philip Sharp at her funeral service, February 3rd, 2016.
First we would like to thank everyone for the kind remembrances of Grandma. The funeral arrangement, flowers, mass, and Father’s comments have all been wonderful.
It is hard to summarize almost 99 years of life. Faustina Clotilda Christilles was born on Friday, February 9th, 1917 to Magdalena Mechler Christilles and Paul Christilles in La Coste, Texas. She was an only child for 9 years until the arrival of her baby brother Paul in 1926. She loved him dearly. They remained close throughout their lives until his death in 2000. As a child she spent many happy hours in the company of her Grandparents, George and Mary Christilles. She spoke of many pleasant times with them, including swimming in the Medina River and enjoying watermelon that had been cooled by the river water.
Faustina attended Our Lady of Grace Catholic School and graduated high school from Ursuline Academy in San Antonio. After graduation, she returned to La Coste, TX working for the La Coste ledger newspaper. It was at a dance that she met a young man from Oklahoma named Woodrow who was a herdsman at Montgomery Ranch near Highway 90. He was persistent and made up excuses to travel to La Coste to see her. She accepted his marriage proposal and they married at St. Mary’s Church in San Antonio on July 24th, 1940.
Life with Woodrow was never boring. She spoke of riding cattle cars from San Antonio to Ft. Worth to attend stock shows. Faustina said during their years together that “divorce never entered my mind, but murder did!” They enjoyed 55 years together before his passing in 1995. Into this union were born four sons: Philip, Patrick, Michael and William.
She told me after Dad’s death that she never wanted to go to another rodeo or cattle sale. She made her own way.
Faustina was the perfect boy mom with a laid back attitude and tolerance for mischief which she often needed! In addition to raising four rambunctious boys and managing Woodrow’s veterinary office at their home, she pursued some of her own interests. She was an accomplished artist in several mediums, including watercolor painting, fiber art crafts, and quilting. I can remember her correspondence art course in the early days where she would do an assignment, package it up, send it back East, get a critique and continue on. She made the tie I’m wearing today.
She was civic minded, helping found the Castroville Garden Club and, along with Sr. Roberta Haby, was an early teacher of CCD at St. Louis Church. She continued to contribute to her community for decades.
But the most wonderful things Faustina did were never drawn, stitched, or planted. What she did was give of herself by listening to those who needed to be heard and opening her door to those who needed a cup of coffee or a shoulder to lean on.
She never met a stranger, even bring her tenderness and compassion to those she didn’t know. One time she and Woodrow were traveling and stopped at a diner to eat. She went to the restroom and met a lady there who was crying inconsolably. The woman explained to Faustina that her husband had recently been diagnosed with cancer and she couldn’t cry in front of him or their children and had to find someplace to cry privately. Faustina held her and comforted her and told her to cry on her shoulder. Afterwards, when the woman and her family left the diner she waved and blew kisses to Faustina. Woodrow asked who the woman was. Faustina said, “Oh, that’s an old friend.” Apparently, she never told him the story. That was Faustina-show love to those around you without expecting anything in return.
Understanding others was another of Faustina's lessons. Once when one of the boys was grumbling about a friend, she explained that things were difficult at the friend's home. She believed that people were basically good but sometimes didn’t react in the best way. She felt that if you understood where someone was coming from, you could understand why they were acting that way. Empathy, compassion and forgiveness- these were Faustina’s ways.
She had a lot of simple sayings. “Do something creative each day.” Even cooking is creative according to Faustina. Each thing you do for your family, be it cooking, scrubbing a toilet, sweeping or paying bills, is a prayer, she said.
She taught us how to embrace change and how to move forward through those changes. “Do the best with what you’ve got” and “put one foot in front of the other” were a couple of her frequent reminders.
She was frugal. Grandpa Woodrow said she could squeeze a nickle until the buffalo pooped. She was kind and loving with no bad words about anyone. With any tough or hard times she was quick to remind us “this too will pass.” She lost a son and quietly carried on. I don’t remember many disappointments she had with me but Mike says she had a lot of disappointments with him and Bill. She often said “just do your best” and “treat others as you would like to be treated.”
One memory that was especially meaningful to me was when I went into the Army and later Vietnam. I had just finished med school and a year of internship. At that time you either volunteered or were drafted. I was intrigued with the Special Forces and joined as they needed doctors. Explaining that this entailed jumping out of airplanes and sometimes jumping out of airplanes at night, I never heard her say, “No, you shouldn’t do that” but rather “is it safe?”
She drove me to the airport in San Antonio to leave to the insanity of Vietnam. I don’t remember tears but learned later from Sarah and Trish the rest of the story:
She had driven me by herself as my dad apparently “couldn’t make it.” I guess he wasn’t emotionally able and in some ways wasn’t as strong as she was. She was driving home and started crying so hard she pulled over at the North Star Mall and went in and sat down in the women’s shoe department where she continued to cry. A salesman came and consoled her and not wanting to get him in trouble for taking up so much of his time she felt she should compensate him by buying herself a pair of red shoes. She got them home and found out they were a size too small and she couldn’t wear them. She apparently never related that to anyone until Sarah’s husband was deployed to Iraq.
You all honor Mom by being here. We heard many stories of her interaction with some of you. All positive and heart warming.
She was sweet, gentle, and kind. She was a good woman. She’ll be missed.
Easter 1983- Bill, Mike, Faustina, Woodrow, Phil, Pat
Personal impressions throughout our American history from Faustina:
The Great Depression did not affect us a lot. My father (Paul) was a good car dealer. He sold trucks and tractors to famers and also had a wholesale gasoline business. We were short of cash until the farmers harvested their crop and paid their bills. With a garden, chickens and milk we usually lived well. Nobody had much but no one considered himself poor either.
When World War II came around Woodrow had a reserve commission in the medical corp as a Vet student. In his Jr. year he was called to active duty but did not pass his physical. It was a bad time for us. He was diagnosed as active T.B. We went from doctor to doctor. Although he was infected the T.B. was inactive. During the time Woodrow was in school to become a veterinarian we lived in a two bedroom apartment with Philip. Soon I found out I was pregnant with Pat, which was probably the lowest I have ever felt due to our financial situation. I rented out one of our bedrooms to a young man in the Navy for $50 a month and we all stayed in the other room.
When Vietnam came about Phil joined in the Special Forces. The day he left for Vietnam I took him to the airport in San Antonio. I can’t describe the heavy heart or the joy of seeing him safely at home. (Source: Interviewed for Frannie Sharp Bailey’s college paper- 2008)
Children of Woodrow and Faustina:
1) Philip Marion Sharp
Birth: Living
Married: Mary Helen Schmitt
Birth: Living
Children: (4) Will, Sarah, Frances, Hannah
2) Patrick Dennis Sharp
Birth: 18 July 1943 College Station, , Texas, USA
Death: 10 May 1997 Cheyenne, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
3) Michael Woodrow Sharp
Birth: Living
Married: Charlene Ruffin
Birth:Living
Children: (2) Jennifer, Christopher
4) William Paul Sharp
Birth: Living
Married: Patricia Ann Poulson
Birth: Living
Children: (2) Andrew, David
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