McMurry War Whoop (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 76, No. 7, Ed. 1, Wednesday, January 19, 2000 Page: 4 of 8
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War Whoop - Page 4
Wednesday January 19 2000
Where are they now?
by Donna Hitt
Anyone who has
driven through the streets
of Abilene for just one day
has probably noticed the
name "Senter" on many
residential and commer-
cial buildings. The Senter
Realty Company as well as
the Senter family has
been a vital part of
Abilene for several de-
cades. They are a very
giving iamily with a tre-
mendous appreciation of
their community. For our
first in a series of spot-
lights on distinguished
McMurry graduates for
the year 2000 we are fea-
turing Lila Ellexson Senter
a 1976 graduate of
McMurry.
Ms. Senter was
born Lila Ellexson in Okla-
homa and was reared in
Louisiana until the age of
sixteen when her father
who worked in the oil in-
dustry was transferred to
Denver City Texas. Her
first encounter with Texas
was a bit of culture shock.
This oilfield town of West
Texas was somewhat dis-
mal with its droughts
sand and dust storms but
she adjusted quickly since
it was her third high
school to attend and soon
settled in as a new Texan.
It was in Denver City that
she met her future hus-
band Bill Senter whose
family also was involved
in the oilfield industry of
Denver City. She has re-
mained a West Texan
since those earlv years al-
though she is well traveled
due to the many trips she
and her family have taken.
She is also very cosmopoli-
tan in her views and out-
look on life.
Lila married Bill
Senter in 1950 They first
lived in Midland where
she completed two years
or college studies it
Odessa College befo e
moving o Lubbock and
jjing tf ork -.cere
Lila
tarial positions to help
put her husband through
college at Texas Tech Uni-
versity. After his gradua-
tion her husband's work
with a pharmaceutical
jjte t(Sv
Lila Ellexson Senter
company brought the
couple to Abilene Texas.
After having three
children Scott Steve and
Sydney and after the last
one entered the school
system Lila decided to go
back to school and finish
her degree. She chose
McMurry College. Al-
though McMurry has
quite a few non-traditional
students on campus
now it was not that com-
mon in the seventies for a
mom with a successful
businessman husband
and three very active chil-
dren to return to college
life but she loved it. She
received her Bachelor of
Sociology degree at
McMurry then went on to
ACU and completed her
Master's degree in 1978.
She continued her educa-
tion beyond that by secur-
ing a Real Estate and Bro-
kers license and GRI
(Graduate of Realtors In-
HBfeY: . Ti i i uaaHMT
Ellexson Senter
surance).
In the 1980's and
1990's Lila put her Social
Work degree to use as a
contract Social Worker in
Nursing Homes and Home
Health Care. Her interest
has always been in help-
ing the segment of the
population where she
thinks it is needed the
most. She loves seeing the
results of helping people
become meaningful citi-
zens through new training
and skills. That desire has
been put to good use
through many of the non-
profit community action
groups in our city.
Lila has made
many contributions to
Abilene but she cites the
forming of the Juvenile
Justice Center as one of
her favorites. She along
with many other con-
cerned citizens felt a
separate center to address
young people's problems
in the criminal justice area
was needed. She served as
Chairman of this advisory
committee appointed by
the Chamber to explore
this issue. It was a 3- to -
' h J8u?lw5JBB
5- year commitment and
the center is now in place.
Lila Senter's list of
service is long and she is
very modest about her ac-
complishments. She loves
the community and finds
it a joy to help where she
can. She says the last
twenty years have been
very meaningful through
her work with Hospice
and the Care Unit and
Psyche Unit at Hendricks
Medical Center. She also
served on the founding
board of the Adult Day
Care and the initial board
of Hope Haven. (She is
quick to give the praise to
Jackie Warmsley the vi-
sionary of this incredible
project!)
The Senter family
helped with the establish-
ment and building of the
Brookhollow Christian
Church. Bill and Lila are
members of the First Bap-
tist Church and enjoy at-
tending the services there
although she is not hung
up on a church label. She
is first and foremost a
Christian and loves the
Christian atmosphere of
Abilene. She is blessed
with having all three chil-
dren and all her grandchil-
dren living in Abilene
which she considers a very
family oriented city.
Lila wanted to close
her interview by com-
menting on Caroline
Couch Blair a past profes-
sor and member of the
McMurry family who re-
cently passed away. "She
was the dearest lady and
a wonderful professor.
She gave me a precious gift
she called "a word
present." This is the gift
of thoughtful and mean-
ingful words to pass on to
others to let them know
you are thinking of them
and encouraging them."
Lila uses this suggestion
often and calls it her
"word gifts." Great idea.
Lila and Bill Senter
will be celebrating their
50th Wedding Anniver-
sary this spring with a
special trip.
Rotary Clubs
offering
scholarship
for students
wanting to
study abroad
Rotary Interna-
tional is offering $10000
to $23000 for students
wanting to study abroad
as recipients of Rotary
Foundation Academic-
Year Ambassadorial Schol-
arships. Students chosen
by the Rotary Club to re-
ceive scholarships are to
use the money or its
equivalent for fees and
tuition living expenses
round-trip transportation
and one month of inten-
sive language training .
The scholarships are to be
awarded for one academic
study-year abroad at a
study institution assigned
by Rotary Foundation
Trustees. Applicants
should be proficient in the
host country's language
and have completed at
least two years of univer-
sity course work when the
scholarship begins.
Applications are
available from Rotary
Clubs of Abilene. Students
interested in applying for
the scholarships may call
the Rotary Club at (915)
675-6329 or go by 107
Highland for an applica-
tion form. The applica-
tion period is January 10
2000 to February 10
2000.
"Facing the press is more
difficult than bathing a
leper. "
-Mother Teresa
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McMurry War Whoop (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 76, No. 7, Ed. 1, Wednesday, January 19, 2000, newspaper, January 19, 2000; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth104619/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting McMurry University Library.