Pauline Gage

Pauline Amburgey Gage, 102, beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, friend, and woman of remarkable talents and decades of achievements, went home to be with the Lord on July 24, 2021, in Odessa, surrounded by her loving family.

Born in Jonesboro, Louisiana, she moved with her parents, G.E. and Elma Shows, to Odessa in 1926. She later graduated from Odessa High School, where she was a cheerleader and star of the girls' basketball team. She then attended Texas Tech University.

While a senior at Odessa High School, Pauline represented Odessa in the Sun Carnival at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. There she attracted the attention of a Hollywood talent scout and was offered a part in a Bing Crosby movie. Because she was still in high school, she declined Hollywood's call, but she remained a noted beauty for the rest of her life.

In 1937, she married L.S. Amburgey of the pioneering Amburgey ranching family. While married to Mr. Amburgey, who was a private pilot, Pauline took flying lessons until after the birth of their daughter, Paulette.

Avid hunters, Pauline and Mr. Amburgey also started a gun club and competed in skeet shoots all over Texas and New Mexico. At the 1952 Pan-American Open skeet championships in Dallas, they set a world record for a husband-and-wife team, and in individual shoot-offs Pauline bested All-American competitors who were men. Pauline won other individual skeet shooting championships at the state and national levels.

Mr. Amburgey passed away in 1954. In 1968, Pauline married Fred C. Gage, a prominent Realtor, real estate developer, and former mayor of Odessa. Pauline worked with Mr. Gage in the real estate business until his death in 1998.

Pauline had a passion for the arts. In the 1960s, her artistry began with china painting, for which she received considerable recognition. In the 1970s, at the suggestion of Mr. Gage, Pauline took up oil painting and, later, pastel portraits. Over the next two decades, she studied under such recognized artists as Lee Parkinson, Ben Konis, Paul Malosovich, and Carol Gibson Sayle, and her artistry garnered her numerous awards.

Pauline exhibited her oil paintings at local banks, libraries, schools, malls, fairs, and such other venues as the Permian Playhouse. Her final and favorite medium, the pastel portrait, showcased her uncanny talent in capturing the likenesses and personalities of her subjects with artistic nuance. She loved to create portraits of family members and friends and delighted them with these portraits as treasured gifts.

While expressing her art on canvas, Pauline also worked tirelessly to enhance art appreciation in the Permian Basin. She was a longtime member of the Odessa Art Association, serving twice as its president, twice as its corresponding secretary, and once as its historian and reporter. In recognition of her volunteer service to the Association, Pauline was nominated for the Odessa Cultural Council's “Volunteer of the Year” award. Further, Pauline served on the board of the Art Institute for the Permian Basin and continued to volunteer for the museum after it was renamed the Ellen Noël Art Museum.

Pauline was also an avid golfer. As a member of the Odessa Country Club, she served as president of the Women's Golf Association and was active in the Women's Social Association. Pauline was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church of Odessa and served as group captain of her Sunday School class.

Besides her great talents, accomplishments, and beauty, Pauline was known for her sparkling personality, infectious sense of humor, and inimitable, glamorous style that lit up the room and lifted spirits wherever she went. Heaven, indeed, now has a new star.

Pauline was preceded in death by her parents, G.E. and Elma Shows; first husband, L.S. Amburgey; second husband, Fred C. Gage; and sisters, Willene Shows and Dorris Kley.

Pauline is survived by her daughter, Paulette Amburgey Waggoner (and husband John) of Odessa; stepson Douglas Gage of Magnolia; stepdaughter Ann Sealy of Oxford, Mississippi; grandson Gage Amburgey Waggoner of Plano; step-grandson Baron Gage (and family) of College Station; step-grandson Spencer Gage (and family) of Spring; nephew Dr. Gary Theobald (and family) of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; niece Paula Coulter (and family) of Bixby, Oklahoma; niece Sue Davis (and family) of Lafayette, Louisiana; niece Jaydene Amburgey (and husband Fred Stark) of Odessa; and nephew Shane Amburgey (and family) of Arizona.

A Funeral Service will take place at Sunset Memorial Funeral Home on Thursday, July 29, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. A graveside service will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the First Baptist Church of Odessa, the American Cancer Society, or Hospice of Odessa.