Nell Krueger
Leah Nell Harris Blake-Krueger made her transition Jan. 19, 2021, in Austin. She was 95 years old and most of those years were filled with adventure and lots of people.
Arrangements are under the supervision of Riley Funeral Home, Hamilton.
Nell was born Oct. 1, 1925. to Ola Kinsey Harris and John Mike Harris in a small Central Texas town of Shive in Hamilton County.
Her mother was a schoolteacher, her father a farmer. Her schooling began in Hamilton, where she always made A’s. The family moved to Evant, and on to Gatesville when World War II began, where her father was to work building Fort Hood. Nell was a senior in high school, and that year she was on the honor roll and had the female lead in the senior play.
In 1943 the family moved to Dallas where Nell held many jobs. One was working as a waitress at Sammy’s Restaurant while she waited to enter college at Texas Women’s University in Denton. It was in Denton that she met William Andrew Blake, a soldier stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
When Andy returned from service they were married at Cockrell Hill Baptist Church in 1945. To this marriage two sons were born, Kenneth Wayne and Phillip Andrew.
Nell and Andy continued to live in Dallas where Andy was a streetcar driver and worked on the assembly line at Ford Motor Co., Built in Texas by Texans. Nell was a Stanley Dealer (Stanley Home Products) and soon became a manager, the same position that Mary Kay Ash of Mary Kay Cosmetics had at the time.
Nell was an entrepreneur in every sense of the word. She held many offices in many different fields. She never met a stranger, which she learned from her father. Her unique gift was to make lots of people her dear friend, not acquaintances, but friends. It was not something she tried to do, it was who she was. You would feel that you were an important uniquely special part of her life and that together you were stronger than each of you alone.
They moved to Port Lavaca in 1956 and opened an appliance store and were involved with Jaycees and other local organizations. They later opened a paint store, Blake’s House of Colors.
Dalhart Windberg, an artist from Victoria, would come to the store and paint; this led Nell to her passion, art. She began promoting Texas artists in galleries and shows.
Nell and Clifton Krueger were married in 1976, and Nell was working with a number of Texas artists. In 1981 she and the Windbergs founded Windberg Inc., Nell becoming the CEO. The company printed Dalhart’s paintings along with other artists. Dalhart’s prints and originals became sought after worldwide, and they traveled the United States and Europe.
In 1985 Nell and Clifton retired to Blanco, and Nell was instrumental in establishing the Blanco Museum, restoration of the courthouse and many other activities.
She was also “queen” of network marketing, you name it, and she could sell it. Promoting to Nell was a lifestyle and sincere.
For the past eight years, Nell has lived at Parmer Woods Assisted Living in Austin where she made many friends.
Nell’s husbands preceded her in death.
Survivors include sons Kenneth and wife Marlene of Pflugerville and Phillip and wife Gail of Lago Vista; grandchildren Rhea Van deList and husband Sean and Ryan Blake and wife Tara; great-grandchildren Cypress Tennessee, Patrick Van deList and Sawyer Blake; sister Myrna Beth Harris Deady and husband Dennis of Granbury; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
