Elizabeth Agness Callaway, artist, writer, photographer, outdoorswoman and world traveler, passed away Friday, May 1, 2009, in Seward, Neb., at age 91.
She was born Dec. 25, 1917, in Fairbury, Neb., to Charles B. and Elizabeth A. (Henderson) Callaway. She graduated from Fairbury High School in 1935, the University of Nebraska with a B.A. in Fine Arts in 1940, and a M.A. in English in 1994.
She had a son from her marriage to Murray Turnbull, a fellow artist from Iowa, and a daughter from her marriage to Stanley H. Anderson, a farmer from Ceresco, Neb.
In 1957, Elizabeth and her two children moved to the Mojave Desert in California, for a 25-year career as a technical illustrator at the US Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake. Her work dealt with aviation ordnance, including the Sidewinder air-to-air missile, Walleye TV-guided bomb, and in later years, the HARM air-to-ground anti-radar missile.
Elizabeth loved the American Southwest, its vistas and its art. She read extensively and collected Indian silver. She hiked and skied in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, climbing more than 175 peaks in California, Nevada, and Colorado, including Mt. Whitney, the highest in the lower 48 states. Elizabeth was the first woman member of the China Lake Mountain Rescue Group.
After her retirement, she moved first to Lone Pine, then Lincoln, Neb. Elizabeth returned often to the mountains, including a hike to the summit of St. Mary’s Peak, with companions, in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana when she was 83. Never one to pass up a chance to see more, she packed up her books and rocks and moved back to the Southwest to Cortez, Colo., in 2003. Elizabeth returned to Seward, Neb., in 2007.
She was preceded in death by her parents, and her brothers, Marion and Con Callaway.
She is survived by her son, John Turnbull and wife, Gloria of York, Neb.; four grandchildren and spouses, Rex and Inga Turnbull, Brice and Tara Turnbull, Clint and Stacie Turnbull and Tessa and Chris Warnick; six great-grandchildren; and daughter, Virginia Sue Anderson and husband, Jimmy Elliott of Buckley, Wash.; nieces and nephews.
Visitation and signing of the Remembrance Book will be Thursday, May 21 and Friday, May 22 at Zabka Funeral Home. An informal Celebration of Life service will be held Sunday, May 24, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Liberty House Bed and Breakfast in Seward, Neb. Remembrances and readings will be shared by grandson, Clint Turnbull, son, John Turnbull, and friends, Karen Shoemaker, and Sally Stoddard.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made toward a park bench for the Seward community.
Arrangements provided by Zabka Funeral Home, Seward, Neb., 402-643-2924. Media information provided by the family.