Funeral services for a pioneer Dickens County school teacher, Miss Margaret A. Elliot, were held Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. in the First Baptist Church. Rev. Norris Taylor officiated, assisted by Rev. John Nay.Miss Elliot died January 8, 1979 in the Stamford Hospital. A retired school teacher, she had spent the past several years as a resident of the Spur Care Center. She had made Dickens County her home all her life.
A graduate of West Texas State Teachers´ College, Canyon, she held a BA and MA degree and completed some of her work abroad. She was a history teacher and it is said she could narrate the history of the United States; give all the correct names, dates, battles and details.
The schools she taught in were Espuela, Spring Creek, Kalgary, Red Hill, Spur (two different times, 1920´s and 1950´s) Oklaunion, Phillips, Borger; Hereford, Dalhart, Patton Springs, McAdoo and Girard.
She was instrument in saving the Girl Scout movement in Spur in the 1950´s and spent many hours helping to establish the Spur-Dickens County Library.
The Margaret A. Elliot Museum is dedicated to her and the family requests memorials be made to the museum. The collection in the museum was donated by the Elliot family after many years of collecting and research by Mr. Elliot (her father) and Margaret and other family members.
She is survived by a brother, William J. Elliot, Jr.; Spur; two sisters, Audry Hensley, Guthrie and Virginia Williams, Spur.
Pallbearers were J.B. Morrison, Jr.; Eric Swenson; Willard Williams, Douglas Hinson, Elmer Maben, and Stanley Whitefield. Burial was in Spur Cemetery.
©The Texas Spur, January 11, 1979
Submitted by Kay Laster; from the records of Lillian Grace Nay
Former Pupil Pays Tribute To Miss Margaret Elliot
Miss Elliot taught most of the class of ´29 when we were in the 7th grade in 1924-25.She was so beautiful! When I saw the picture of her in the Library, I remembered how pretty she was as she came to school each day, driving from their ranch home near Kalgary. I remember how she showed Burlan Morgan how to put coal in the big jacketed stove and how graciously and how perfectly she organized us and her work.
Because of her Scottish background, having traveled and studied abroad, and because she was so articulate, history came alive for us.
As the years went by she got promotions to principalships, and left Spur only to return in 1948 to teach my girls, Carolyn and Kathleen in the 5th grade. How better could it be!
Her dedication to the Girl Scout work in Spur and all the long hours she put into the library could never be valued or replaced.
She is truly a great woman! My life has been better for having had her as my teacher and I only wish it were possible for me and others of the class to show her how much we love her.
She taught her students manners and self control and she was never too busy to show the weakest one of us how to do a better job and develop a skill. Miss Eliot was my teacher!
Written by Marie Oliver Kelley©The Texas Spur - Thusday, September 18, 1975, page two
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