Celeste Ault

On Saturday, August 30, in Lometa, Texas, Sarah Celeste Young Ault took leave of this world.  Celeste, as she was called by everyone who knew her, died unexpectedly in her sleep, at home with her loved ones close by.  She was 43.

Visitation will be held at Sneed-Carnley Funeral Chapel in Lampasas on Friday, September 12, 2025, from 1 pm to 2 pm.  Graveside services will follow at Center Cemetery in Lometa, TX, at 2:30 pm.

Celeste was born in Kerrville, Texas, and after a slight detour to Colorado as a child, she came back to Texas as a young adult.  Her initial return to the state brought her to Lometa, up in central Texas, then back to Kerrville, and then again, finally back to Lometa.  Though she treasured visits with her out-of-state friends, she was always a Texan.  Jeans were a wardrobe staple, and her vehicle of choice was an industrially scaled pick-up truck.  The Texas flag always made an appearance somewhere in her home.  More than anything, she loved the big blue skies and open fields that exist nowhere else in the world like they do in rural Texas.  It will be a comfort to all who knew and loved Celeste that the finale of her all too brief but beautiful life played out in a landscape she loved very much.

Celeste is survived by two sons, whom she treasured above all else.  Aside from the two she gave birth to, Celeste mothered every child who had the good fortune to be friendly with her boys. "Mama Celeste," as the kids called her, kept her front door open - or in Kerrville, her garage door - and children were welcome.  In her self-designed role as counselor, babysitter, and 'second-mom,' she oversaw a variety of backyard games, funded much pizza consumption, and provided occasional transport to baseball games.  All this came with large doses of free and unconditional affection, support and time.

Jobs came and went.  (Her hands-down favorites involved the care and tending of animals - who to a one instinctively adored Celeste.)  Addresses and schedules also changed, but Celeste's devotion to her friends and family, especially her mother and her husband, never wavered.  Celeste made sure she had an abundance of time for people, places, and ways of life she loved.  A patient listener, a cheerleader for the best in others, a true and loyal friend, a devoted daughter, and a wonderful mother - she will be missed beyond measure.

Aside from her two sons, Preston Mixon and Rayford "Duke" Mixon, she is survived by her husband, Thad Ault of Lometa, Texas; her stepdaughters, Aliana Ault of Lometa and Keira Berner of Denver, Colorado; her mother, Miriam Chambers Clarkson of Kerrville and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins (from San Antonio to Los Angeles) and more friends than can be counted.  Her father, John Edwin Young, as well as her paternal grandparents, Edwin and Ruby Young, and her maternal grandparents, Boardman and Lois Chambers, preceded her in death.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Kerrville Pets Alive or the Freeman-Fritts Vet Clinic & Shelter.