BIOGRAPHY OF AUDREY TOWATER
(by Joel W. Fitts, copyright 2011)
Audrey Towater was born Audrey Lucile Fuller in Scottsbluff, Nebraska in 1924. Her father built homes in the upscale part of Scottsbluff during the 1920s, contributing to the architecture of their town. Little did her parents know that Audrey would grow up and contribute to the art of their town, state, and country. Although Audrey lived her entire life in Scottsbluff, her indomitable spirit, her personality, and her art granted her access to people and places all over the country.
While Audrey was in Junior College, she met Lou Towater when he was stationed in Scottsbluff during World War II. They married at the end of 1943 and Audrey moved around the country with Lou as he was stationed in different places. Audrey gave birth to their first child in September 1944. Carolyn was born in Jackson, Tennessee, Lou's hometown, because he happened to be stationed nearby.
After the war, the new family settled in Scottsbluff and started farming Audrey's family's land. They had two more children, Vicki in 1948 and Tom in 1952. By that time, the family had moved into town while Lou continued to work on the farm east of Scottsbluff. Audrey was a busy housewife and mother and kept up with the social scene in town.
All three children had gone off to college by 1970 and two of them were married and living out of town. Audrey assumed the role of loving grandmother when her first grandchild was born in 1968. By 1979, Audrey had five grandchildren, two girls and three boys. Her role as grandmother grew as first one daughter and then the other moved their families back to Scottsbluff in 1972 and 1978.
But just as Audrey was assuming the role of grandmother, she discovered her love of art. She started dabbling in various art mediums and would create a new career for herself. Audrey began painting and soon formed her own unique style. At first she painted family gatherings, family homes, and landscapes. An artist was born. Eventually she became known for her acrylic paintings in Scottsbluff and began painting for other people. By the 1980s she was well known across Nebraska for her paintings and was invited to paint events statewide. Known for her work in progress and her presence at the event as much as for the finished product itself, Audrey's personality and friendly style won the hearts of children, teachers, businessmen, statesmen, and organizations alike. And they all wanted her to paint their family, their class, their buildings, and their events.
Eventually Audrey the Artist became known in various parts of the country. She was invited to paint everything from ballets and symphonies, to legislatures, to football games. Regardless of the setting, Audrey would set up her own equipment: a paint-covered chair, a paint-covered table, and a paint-covered easel. Soon followed the hundreds of tubes of acrylic paint and the paint-covered jars filled with water and brushes. As the day wore on, the artist would begin to take on the appearance of the equipment as she used her fingers for her craft as much as her brushes. But amid that apparent disarray, creativity and skill were at work, and bright and colorful paintings would come to life.
Audrey freely admitted that she was a "free-spirit," which was surely part of her artistic nature. Known for her spontaneity, inspiration, and musings, Audrey moved through life seeing the fun, the beauty, and the energy around her. But Audrey was also a thinker and was interested in everything. However, living on these "higher planes" sometimes got her into trouble, and always kept her husband Lou on his toes. Accordingly, her family loves to recount the adventures and misadventures that Audrey experienced while in pursuit of higher art and knowledge. And Audrey enjoyed these stories too, surely seeing the higher meanings in it all.
Her most international art adventure occurred in 1989 when the Berlin Wall was coming down in East Germany. Audrey wanted to be there to paint this historical event, and to her family's surprise, Audrey and her grandson-in-law flew to Berlin to do just that. Audrey painted over twenty paintings of the people at the wall as well as other scenes in West and East Berlin. Many agree that the resultant paintings are some of her most beautiful landscapes. They returned to Scottsbluff with their paintings and recounted the several adventures they had in the turbulence of the reunifying Germany.
But it must be said that amid her free-spirit adventures and artistic endeavors, Audrey stayed close to her family. Deeply involved in her children's and grandchildren's lives, she cared for and encouraged each of them. While supporting their professions, she encouraged them in the various artistic talents she saw in each of them. Her son, Tom, even followed in her footsteps and eventually devoted his career to art. Each grandchild remembers spending the night at Grandma’s house and painting with her, usually into the late hours of the night. And in recent years this extended to her great-grandchildren as well.
Audrey had five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, but no one ever accused her of being a typical grandmother. Her unique style, her youthful spirit, being a lightning rod for adventure, and her artistic talent made her known near and far. Audrey is surely one of the great artists and great characters and yes, great grandmas, of our time.