Stella Neumann Bristol, age 96, passed away on September 1, 2009. Visitation will begin at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, September 6, 2009 at Friedens United Church of Christ in Geronimo, followed by services at 3:30 p.m. with Rev. John Roberts officiating. Interment will follow in Lone Oak Cemetery, and a reception will then be held at the Neumann Farm.
Stella was born on August 19, 1913 on the Neumann Farm in Geronimo, Texas to Richard and Ida Heinemeier Neumann. Survivors include her daughters, Eileen Bristol of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Janis Alcorn of Chevy Chase, Maryland; brothers, Richard Neumann and Elton Neumann and wife, Jean of Seguin; grandsons, Topaz McGarrigle and wife, Bree, Sean Neumann Alcorn and Skye Alcorn; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Stella enjoyed a childhood rich with family and the world of nature. She picked cotton, excelled in school, rode horses, and was captain of the basketball team at Navarro School. She went to business school, was secretary to Seguin lawyer Mr. Knetsch and to Coke Stevenson when he was the Speaker of the House in the Texas Legislature. She also worked at the Texas Department of Public Safety. She met Bruce Bristol, a Canadian serving in the US Army during World War II at a USO dance in San Antonio, and married him in 1947.
They moved to Houston, where she worked as a legal secretary at Vincent Elkins law firm, She convinced Bruce to give up motorcycle racing when their first daughter was born in 1948, a few months after they opened a motorcycle business in their garage. The business prospered and grew until they retired in 1984. Stella managed the office, the Pirelli tire distributorship and the parts department known as the best in the region, stocking even hard to find items for older motorcycles. They were known for their honesty and fairness. She mentored many young people who worked at Bruce Bristol motorcycle business while finishing high school. Stella moved to the Argent Court in Seguin, in 1996; to Austin in 2007; and spent her last summer in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with her daughter Eileen.
Stella was an energetic and focused individual, retaining her youthful spirit into her later years. She loved the Texas sky, children, birds and flowers. She enjoyed nature and organic gardening. She was interested in natural health care, and she ground flour and made her own bread when she had time in her busy life. May she rest in Peace. Memorial donations may be made to Friedens United Church of Christ, P. O. Box 186, Geronimo,Texas, 78115-0186. You are invited to sign the guestbook at www.treshewell.com. Local arrangements under the direction of Tres Hewell Mortuary, 165 Tor Dr., Seguin, Texas, 78155, 830-549-5912.