Elisabeth Engelhorn Hoskins

Elisabeth Maria Engelhorn Hoskins was born July 14, 1923 in Munich, Germany. She died peacefully on October 21, 2020 in her home in Nolan County. She is the daughter of Kurt Engelhorn and Anita Schlemmer Engelhorn. She spent her childhood in Munich, Mannheim, Heidelberg, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. In the 1930's, her father refused to join the Nazi party; consequently, WWII proved difficult for the family. In 1946, her cousin, U.S. Army Col. Glover S. Johns, located the family during the liberation of Germany and brought safety and provisions. Along with her Texas born mother, she and her brother, Curt Glover Engelhorn, emigrated to the United States in 1947. Her first job in the United States was working for the Kleberg family of the King Ranch at Santa Gertrudis and in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In 1949, she married Laurence Worth Hoskins and moved to the I0I Ranch in Hays County, Texas, where they ran the ranch with her mother-in-law, Dorothy Kuykendall Hoskins. The couple had three children, Mary Ann, Laurence III, and Curt. In 1966, the family moved to Culberson County, Texas, where Elisabeth grew to love the high desert mountains of far west Texas with a passion. She ran the ranch in Culberson County for several years, and was joined by her youngest son, Curt, in 1984. In 2002, she moved with Curt and his family to the I0I Ranch in Nolan County. As a child in Germany, she loved the Hollywood idea of ranch life in the west. As a young woman marrying into a ranching family, she learned how different that life was from the Hollywood version, how hard it could be, and also what a wonderful life it is for those who love animals, hard work, the outdoors and the peace and honesty of wild things. After living on the ranch, she never again wanted to live in a city or even a town. From earliest childhood, Elisabeth loved her horses and dogs. Over the years, she had Arabians, Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, and many, many loyal dogs of all kinds. Elisabeth is survived by her sister-in-law, Heidimarie Engelhorn of Gstaad, Switzerland; daughter, Mary Ann Garren (Jed) of Goldthwaite, TX, son Laurence III of Cape Coral, Fl, and son Curt (Katy) of Sweetwater; grandchildren Jim Ed Garren, Morgan Imrich, Patrick Hoskins and Anita Hoskins and great-grandchildren Jett Garren and Eleanor Elisabeth Imrich. She was preceded in death by her parents and beloved brother, Curt Engelhorn. The family wishes to thank her wonderful caregiver for the last three years, Jennifer Vest of Sweetwater, and the ladies who have helped care for her in her last months, Brenna Murray, Cindy DeLeon, and Kayla Hines. These ladies made the last chapter of her life full of laughter and grace, and provided her the gift of being in her own home. A memorial and celebration of her life will be held at Argos Brewhouse and Bookseller, 209 Oak Street in Sweetwater on Thursday, November 5, 2020 at 2:00 pm with the Rev. James P. Haney officiating. Her ashes will be scattered on her favorite mountaintop in the Wylie Mountains of far west Texas later this year. Honorary pallbearers are Ron Helm, Jon Means, Jim Ratcliff, Patrick Hoskins, Jett Garren, and Timm Bergold. If you wish to remember her with a gift, please consider a local nonprofit of your choice. She had a tremendous heart for "close to home" organizations that help children, animals, veterans and people who are hungry.