Llewellyn Notley

Duane's take

Here's how the marker on Llewellyn Notley tells it, as best I can carry it to you. Born in Paris, Texas, on October 9, 1888, Llewellyn Notley came into this world the son of W. J. and Elizabeth Kilpatrick Notley.

Now, some folks leave a small mark on a place. Llewellyn Notley left the kind that gets a marker put up. He took himself to the University of Texas and came away with not one degree but two, a B.A. and an M.A.

And then he went to work. Starting in 1912, he served as a teacher and school administrator, a stretch of dedication that ran all the way to 1953. That is four decades of standing at the front of a room, shaping minds in Freestone County.

You have to sit with that for a moment. Four decades. He married Mary Ettie Waterman, and together they raised two daughters.

And if the classroom wasn't enough to fill a life, Llewellyn Notley filled the rest of it with history and community. He chaired the Freestone County Historical Survey Committee from 1962 until 1970, and he served the Burlington-Rock Island Railroad Museum Association as well. Civic service awards, history awards, the whole ledger.

The marker calls him an outstanding educator, scholar, civic leader, and historian, and by the time you add it all up, that list doesn't feel like flattery. It feels like a receipt. Llewellyn Notley passed on April 27, 1970.

The kind of man Freestone County remembers.

What the marker says

(October 9, 1888 - April 27, 1970) Outstanding educator, scholar, civic leader, and historian. Born in Paris (Tex.), son of W. J. and Elizabeth Kilpatrick Notley. Took B. A. and M. A. degrees, University of Texas. Served as teacher and school administrator, 1912-53. Chairman of Freestone County Historical Survey Committee, 1962-70, and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad Museum Association. Won civic service and history awards. Married Mary Ettie Waterman; was father of two daughters.