Autry Been
Autry Been finished his earthly assignments on April 20, 2021 and met his Savior Lord Jesus for an eternity in heaven.
Born on May 20th, 1923, Autry was the 6th child for Edgar Lee and Lille Mae Brown Been. His twin sister, Alice, was a few minutes older leaving Autry the last and always the baby of the family.
Autry was born at home and grew up on a dairy farm near Lytle, Texas. He loved the outdoors and always told stories about hunting and fishing with family and friends. In high school he played football and played the tuba in the band at halftime. He also played basketball and tennis when he wasn’t pranking his teachers and school principal. Autry bought his first car from his older brother Tuck. It was a Model T and he paid $13 for it.
Autry was a pre-med major at Baylor University. Unfortunately, he was called home to help with the dairy because his 3 older brothers were already in the military. His love for Baylor never waned, Autry remained a huge fan and influenced his 3 daughters and 4 grandchildren to attend Baylor. When WWll ended, he worked for a dairy supply company for 12 years. During this time, he attended church with a friend and heard a young Peggy Hill singing. He told his friend he was going to marry that girl, even though he had not met her yet. After chasing Peggy all over Texas, they married on April 10th, 1948. They were married for 72 years and had 4 children, 5 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. Peggy died in 2020.
Autry and Peggy moved from San Antonio to a dairy farm outside Hondo, Texas in 1959 to raise their family. They were active in church and school events. Autry and his brother Jack ran a successful dairy for 12 years. After selling the dairy, Autry worked another 12 years for Eastern Seed Company where he received several awards for annual sales exceeding a million dollars. Eastern Seed sponsored many cruises and international trips for their top salesmen, so Autry and Peggy enjoyed their travels around the world.
Autry will be remembered for loving the Lord, having a great family and telling good stories. All of that worked well with his passion for fishing. He was always proud of his boat and gear. He said, if I’m not fishing, I’m planning to fish as soon as possible. Fishing trips were epic, even if they didn’t catch fish. Fishing tales are now legends, even if they are skewed from the truth. No one really remembers the truth now.
Autry has joined his wife Peggy, his son Richard, his parents and all his siblings and their spouses in heaven. This includes David and Margaret Been, Jack and Willa Been, Tuck and Sally Been, Mae and Jack Haymaker, Alice and Bob Schuman. He is survived by three daughters, Nancy and her husband John Townes, Janelle and her husband Bob Shepard and Ladelle Smith. He is also survived by grandchildren John W. Townes IV, Megan and her husband Marc Marrocco, Kelly and her husband Matt Roy, Marshall and his wife Leah Shepard and Chelcey Smith. Autry is also survived by great grandchildren Tristian, Kyla, Gianna, Jackson, Grant, Malosi and Rance.
The family is incredibly grateful for the kind, thoughtful staff at Waterview Assisted Living in Granbury, Texas, Interim Hospice and especially Cheryl Longenbach. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to Samaritan’s Purse.
Graveside celebration on Saturday, May 8th at the Castroville Community Cemetery at 10am.
