Rowena Nixon Dillard

1923 - 2019

September 15, 1923 - April 7, 2019
Rowena Nixon Dillard, born to Buford King Nixon and Lucille Cowley Nixon, on September 15, 1923, passed away peacefully on April 7, 2019, at the age of 95.

She was raised on the family ranch in Atascosa and Frio Counties, near Charlotte, and after six years of age, Rowena and her parents moved to Pearsall so she could attend school. As a young girl she spent most of her days at the ranch and when not in school, playing with neighboring ranch girls and her dogs and horses. Her early ranch friends called her "Wenie". She later spent parts of her summers at Camp Waldemar near Hunt, and there she became "Ro", which lasted the rest of her life.

During Ro's high school days, she was proficient in dancing and Lucille would drive her to San Antonio where she taught tap and ball room dancing at the Bud Nash Studio on Main Ave.

She also was good in tennis and she and her partner competed at the state level.

After high school, Ro attended Southwestern University for one year, and was initiated in to Delta Delta Delta sorority. Her sophomore year, Ro transferred to the University of Texas, and while living in the Tri Delt House, met Carl Dillard during a lunch they were hosting for Carl's fraternity. Ro and Carl did not reconnect until after he returned from World War II and he had moved back to his hometown of Dilley, a neighboring town of Pearsall. Ro and Carl spent the summer in ball parks where Carl played semi-professional baseball for Randolph Air Field, and ultimately they became engaged and married in February of 1947.

As a parent and mother of two children, Nixon and Dana, Ro was a Cub Scout den mother and Blue Bird mother, and was class mother during both of their local school days. She was very active in the Pearsall First United Methodist Church and became the church school superintendent for many years.
Ro began painting in 1949 under the tutelage of Alice Naylor, a well known artist from San Antonio. She studied art and taught art for the remainder of her life, was a member of the Texas Watercolor Society, served on the Board of the Hill Country Arts Foundation (HCAF) in Ingram, and was head of the HCAF art department for many years.

Ro won several awards and won the 1970 Best in Show in the annual Watercolor Society's exhibit. At age 90, one of her three paintings submitted was selected for the Watercolor Society's juried show. Ro also studied sculpture with Luis Guzman from Santiago, Chile, made beautiful jewelry thru the lost wax method, and painted porcelain taught to her by her mother Lucille, a founding member of the Porcelain Society, and was a founding member of the Pitkin County Painters of Aspen, Co.

Ro and Carl spent a lot of their time on the ranch, and were involved in the ranching business, oil and gas management, and hunting and wildlife management. They also enjoyed their memberships in the San Antonio Country Club and The Argyle.

Ro is predeceased by her parents, her loving husband, Carl and her beloved grandson, BK Nixon Dillard.

She is survived by her son, Carl Nixon Dillard and wife Gail, granddaughter, Reagan Dillard, her daughter Dana Dillard Powell and husband Gene, step grandson Dr. Cameron Powell and wife Sarah and their sons Forrest, Simon, Zachery, and Benjamin and step grandson Rev. Dr. Hunter Powell and wife Laura and their children Whitefield, Hudson, and Kate.

The Dillard and Powell families would like to thank the following ladies for their outstanding, loving and loyal care given to Rowena: Annie Torres, Yolanda Rodriguez, Lola Escalante, Rosita De Leon, Maria Mendoza, Rose Gallegos, and most recently the amazing and loving staff of The Village at the Incarnate Word, and Sister's Care at the Village.

In lieu of flowers , it is requested that donations be sent to Pearsall First United Methodist Church, PO Box 243, Pearsall, Tx. 78061, OR a charity of choice.

A memorial service will follow private interment at 11:00 AM Thursday, April 11, 2019 at the Pearsall First United Methodist Church, 507 E. San Antonio St., Pearsall, Tx.

Arrangements under the direction of: