ERLENE MILLS McKINNEY

Erlene M. Peters Mills McKinney died on June 10, 2006 in the Shannon Memorial Hospital after a brief illness. A rosary and Memorial service was held Friday, June 16, 2006 and a Memorial Friday, June 16, 2006 both held at the Robert Massie Riverside Chapel with Rev. Celia Ellery officiating. Graveside services were held Saturday, June 17, 2006 at Lawnhaven Memorial Gardens. She was born July 5, 1922 in Stanton, Texas to Fredricka Anna Piwonka and John Jacob Peters, both descendents of early settlers. Encouraged by a local physician in her hometown, she entered nursing school and was a member of the 1944 graduating class of Shannon West Texas Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. She went on to serve in the Women's Auxiliary Corps during World War II and had a 30 year nursing career. She was uncommonly empathetic with the suffering and the poor. As a registered nurse and supervisor at Shannon Hospital until 1987, she specialized in acute emergency care. She was an active clubwoman, serving as President of the Heart of Texas District of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs from l964 - l966, covering 21 counties and 68 clubs. She also held offices in the Victory Study Club in San Angelo. A lifetime member of the Shannon Alumni Association, she strove to advance public health as a board member of the Tom Green County Tuberculosis Association and as a record-breaking chair of the annual tuberculosis fund drive for two terms. Her club activities resulted in many improvements in highway safety, community chest drives and historic preservation. She testified in a local civil rights case that was partly responsible for higher minimum education standards for local law enforcement officers. A life-long registered Democrat, Mrs. McKinney worked with the Kennedy Administration's Alliance for Progress initiative to improve literacy in Latin America, particularly Peru. Her club members established 16 public libraries in poor areas of Peru; one in Lima was named after her. Working with the Texas Fine Arts Commission, she made an inventory of the arts and cultural resources of Central West Texas for Governor John Connelly. This work later was used to promote funding for the arts in the region. She served as President of the Parent Teachers Association of the Sacred Heart School during the most active building campaign in the l960's. Married to Sutton County rancher, James Owen Mills, she raised three daughters after his untimely death in l973. She later married R. Kay McKinney, a publisher, in l990. She is survived by her daughters, Mary Jane Mills of Jersey City, New Jersey, Martha Mills of Sacramento, California, Margaret Pollard of Springfield, Missouri and a grandson, Donald William Brown, Jr. of San Angelo; a brother, George Peters of Odessa, sisters Beatrice "Bobbie" Simmons of Sunrise Beach, Texas and Clara Holliman of San Angelo; great-grandchildren Austin Brown, Allysia Brown, Leticia Brown, and Zachery Brown, numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.