Cleo Frisbie Cobb McGee

Cleo Frisbie Cobb McGee Cleo C. McGee, age 86, of Austin, Texas, was called into spiritual realms at midnight, December 14, 2011. Cleo was preceded in death by her parents, Otto Earl Frisbie and Laura Mary Ramsey, and her brother, Col. Norman Frisbie, USAF Ret. She was born July 31, 1925 in Billings, Yellowstone County, Montana. She spent her childhood on a farm in Powell, Wyoming, helping her mother and father with farm chores, and especially diligent in caring for her dog Keno, and the sheep she knew by name. She enjoyed cooking with her mother, Wyoming 4-H projects (Wyoming is known as the "Equality State" after the first passage of legislation for Women's equal rights), and trout fishing in the mountains with her father and brother. Her responsible practices, learned at an early age, aided in her care of pets in later life (cats; Rilke, Fluffy, and Sweeney). Young Cleo graduated from Powell High School and at the age of seventeen, she attended college at the University of Colorado in Boulder and received her BA in education. She met and married a Texan, Billy B. Cobb. After Bill received his Masters Degree at the University of Denver, they moved to Austin and settled on Pete's Path. There Cleo helped raise two boys, as well as, obtaining a M.Ed. Degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Cleo went on to teach English for 34 years, 29 years for Austin ISD, a few interim years at a private institution, St. James Episcopal in Corpus Christi, and four more years with a fledgling rather revolutionary group, "Alternative Education" with Jimmy Todd, as principal. They took the instruments of Alternative Education to Austin and began "Robbins". Being the idealist she was and capable of changing a world, she never the less allowed for the requirements of the status-quo and was a member of the Texas State Teachers Association. But her true joy and favorite work career accomplishment was helping especially "tough" students who might not fit in with the typical curriculum. There are many grateful ex-students, "the sons and daughters of Cleo" (as Bob Kerr allowed) who looked to her as their all-time favorite teacher and mentor. She could demand compliance with a mere look and had a notoriously effective "crap-detector". She helped her students with peer pressure, societal demands, personal dilemmas, as well as the common practical requirements of the English language. Thus began their student publication, "The Artful Armadillo". Cleo is survived by two sons; John Cobb with his wife Tina, and Ty Cobb and his wife, Robyn, of Corpus Christi; two grandsons, Ryan and Mitchell Cobb, and numerous nieces and nephews. We will miss our mom and remember her with affection. The trips to her homeland of Wyoming by passenger train, of Yellowstone National Park, and the "Bear Tooths", resonate beyond time into the eternal. We will always cherish the days of growing up in Austin and in Corpus, and the support and love that she gave us in our lives- - - and for putting up with our sandy feet and salt-water on her clean kitchen floor after a day of surfing on Padre Island. To this day, occasionally an ex-student of Cleo's, in either Austin or Corpus, will come up to us and tell how our mom helped them in their school lives. If the language and grammar submitted herein is not absolutely correct, I am sure we will be hearing about it soon. An old-fashioned country celebration of her life will be held at Cleo's Corner on Saturday, January 14, 2012, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Family, friends, and ex-students are cordially invited. Please contact John Cobb (512) 385-1569, or e-mail for directions, or in Corpus Christi, . In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to; Habitat for Humanity, 301 Comal St, Ste 100, Austin, TX 78702 , or Nature conservancy (designate for Texas), 4245 N. Fairfax Dr. Suite 100, Arlington, VA., 22203-1606