Published: October 10, 2009 04:03 pm      

Catherine Elizabeth Walters Souby

Catherine Elizabeth Walters Souby passed away on Saturday night, Sept. 19, in Austin.

She was born Nov. 6, 1922, in Jones County, Miss. to Hilmon Eugene Walters and Ruth Esther Jenkins Walters.

Elizabeth graduated from Mississippi State College for Women (now Mississippi Women's University) in 1945 with a double major in chemistry and bacteriology and then went to work with Humble Oil and Refining Company in Baytown in the Research and Development Division as a chemist.

Very few women were in her field at the time, and her job placed her at the forefront of X-ray diffraction crystallography.

She married Armand Max Souby III, on Nov. 15, 1947. She retired from Humble in 1949, just before the birth of their first daughter.

Max and Elizabeth lived in Baytown, Texas; Grand Forks, N.D.; and San Marcos. Elizabeth was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend to many. She loved sewing, handicrafts, reading and travel and she had a passion for nature and the outdoors.

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents and her husband.

She is survived by her daughters Susan Souby and husband Robert Burnett of Austin; Anne Souby and husband Donald Skrabanek of Austin; Margaret Souby and husband Jeremy Smith of Corpus Christi and Myra Catherine Souby Peddie and husband Chris Peddie of Houston; brother Hilmon Eugene Walters, Jr., of Springfield, Va.; grandchildren Alana Hussing and husband Brittan Hussing; Ava Skrabanek; and Josephine, Maximillian, and Malcolm Peddie; step-grandson Christopher Burnett and wife Lori; and step-great-grandchildren Aubrey and Owen Burnett; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

The memorial service will be held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, San Marcos at 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to The Nature Conservancy, the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center or the charity of your choice.

Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas 78705 (512) 452-8811.

Obituary and guestbook online at wcfish.com.

Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, (512) 263-1511, fax (512) 452-8902