Trixie Lee Slife

A Memorial Service and Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on April 15th, at Church of Christ at the Colonies, 4500 Wesley Rd., Amarillo, TX. Mr. Dick Marcear will officiate.  A Private Family Burial will be held. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 South Georgia.Trixie Lee Ensey Slife passed away peacefully on April 12, 2010. She was born August 15, 1927 in Retrop, OK to John Zacharias and Jennie Covington Ensey. She was one of nine children. She met the love of her life, Mark Slife, in Retrop, after his discharge from the Navy. They married at the Lowry Air Force Chapel, where her brother was stationed, on September 6, 1946 in Denver, CO. She attended secretarial school in Denver, CO. In 1950, their first daughter, Kathy Suzan Slife, was born. They moved to Amarillo in 1954. In 1959, Trixie Lee began working for Petroleum Exploration Inc. (PEI) as a secretary for T. Boone Pickens. In 1962, their second child, Julie Elizabeth Slife was born.  In 1964, Mesa Petroleum (former PEI) went public and Trixie Lee set up the production department and was the Production Manager. She worked at Mesa her entire career. She was a key employee at Mesa Petroleum at a time when the company gained national attention through its efforts to expand its oil and gas reserves. Her organizational skills and her tireless work ethic made her a business mentor to countless Mesa employees, from secretaries to senior executives. She officially retired in 1986, but wasn’t finished yet. Mr. Pickens asked her to come back and help him during a time of transition in his own office. She retired from Mesa the second and final time in 1987.Trixie Lee was an avid bridge player and belonged to four clubs. She enjoyed gardening, fishing, cooking and spending time with her friends and family. Most of all she enjoyed spending time with her five grandchildren and her great granddaughter and being a part of their lives. She was an active member of the Church of Christ at the Colonies. She lived her life full of grace and humor and her last few weeks were no different. Her ever-growing relationship with our Lord was always evident, but especially so during her final weeks of life on Earth. She taught all of us how to live and also how to die. “Life should NOT be a journey to the grave, with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, Whoo-Hoo, what a ride!”Trixie is survived by: her husband, Mark; her sister, Mary Nell Goodall; her youngest daughter, Julie Huffman and husband, Craig and their children: Tom, Ally, Jake and Sam. Her oldest daughter, Kathy King, passed away February 12, 2010, leaving her husband, Chris King and their son, Brandon and his wife, Candice and their daughter, Alexandra. Following the Memorial Service the ladies of Church of Christ of the Colonies will host a reception at the church. The family suggests memorials to High Plains Children’s Home, www.hpch.org, 11240 Chapman Dr. Amarillo, TX 79118.

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