Clarice Pauline James Batson, known as Pauline, was born February 23, 1941, on her family’s farm in Runnels County, Texas. She spent her life with a deep love for West Texas, a strong sense of family, and a determination that could occasionally be mistaken for stubbornness. Those who knew her best knew better. Pauline would have called it knowing what she wanted.

She died on September 1, 2026, following a severe stroke. She was 85.

Pauline grew up in the Ballinger area, the daughter of Charles Lee James and Ella Jonas James. She attended Ballinger schools, where, in the first grade, she met Linda Moncrief Byrd. What began as a childhood friendship became one that lasted 78 years.

Linda fondly remembers one particular adventure at the James family farm. The two girls climbed onto Pauline’s horse, Dolly, who was one of the most stubborn horses imaginable. Dolly apparently recognized a kindred spirit in Pauline. Rather than taking the girls on a pleasant ride, Dolly walked straight into the middle of the stock tank and stopped. The girls screamed and hollered until a farmhand finally came to their rescue. It was the beginning of Pauline’s love-hate relationship with Dolly, and perhaps an early indication that Pauline was not someone who gave up easily.

Pauline graduated from Ballinger High School as valedictorian and headed off to the University of Texas. Her college experience got off to a rocky start when she arrived at her dorm and discovered that the school had accepted too many students. Her assigned “room” was, in fact, a place in the hallway. That was enough to make Pauline come to her senses about UT. She transferred to San Angelo Junior College, where she attended from 1959 to 1961. It was there that she met Jerry Wayne Batson, the man who would become the love of her life.

The story of how they met was very much a Jerry story. The first time he saw Pauline, she was walking out of the cafeteria with a friend. Jerry asked his buddy, “Who’s that?” His friend pointed at her friend and said she was so-and-so’s daughter from Paint Rock.

Jerry clarified: “No, the other one.” Eventually, he learned that the other one was Pauline, and before long, they were dating.

Pauline’s father was not too happy about her dating Jerry, and with good reason. After a car wreck and then a plane crash, both with Jerry behind the wheel, Pauline’s father was convinced that Jerry might be trying to kill her. Thankfully, Jerry won the family over, and the love story continued. The couple transferred to Texas Tech, where they began going together full time. In early 1963, while driving down the Clovis Highway outside Lubbock, Jerry popped the question and she said yes. They were married on August 3, 1963, in Ballinger, beginning a marriage that would last more than 63 years.

After graduating from college, Pauline became a teacher in New Home, south of Lubbock. The couple had been lured there in part by the promise of free housing. The housing was apparently not enough to keep them there for long, and after a few months, Jerry’s company transferred them to Odessa.

In Odessa, Pauline taught part-time at Odessa High School before taking a full-time position at the Ector County Courthouse. When Jerry was drafted into the Army in 1965, Pauline returned to Ballinger to live with her mother. She then spent a brief period at Fort Hood before returning to Ballinger, where she taught special education while Jerry served in Vietnam.

In 1969, Pauline and Jerry welcomed their only child, Stephanie Lynn, born November 20 at Ector County Hospital in Odessa. The family moved to San Angelo in 1974, where they built friendships that would last a lifetime. In 1978, another move brought them to Kilgore, which became home for nearly 50 years. There, they developed more friendships and relationships that would become such an important part of their lives.

Pauline had a way of making people feel cared for without making a production of it. In the days following her stroke, messages poured in from friends who wanted the family to know how much she was loved and that she was one of the nicest people they had ever known.

Those closest to Pauline knew that her kindness was rarely loud. She believed in taking care of people, often in ways that no one else ever knew about. Over the years, she quietly and anonymously paid the remaining tuition for a co-worker, paid off the orthodontia bill for her housekeeper’s child and performed countless other acts of generosity without fanfare.

She was also practical to her core. Pauline saved money religiously because she believed in taking care of her family not just today, but years down the road. She kept a beautiful house, was always put together, always stylish, and her love language was making sure things were clean, organized and taken care of. These are the lessons her daughter carries with her to this day – well, maybe not the clean house part.

Pauline also believed strongly in teaching children the value of saving. When her great-nieces were born, she gave each of them a piggy bank. Every birthday and holiday brought quarters: a few taped to a Valentine’s Day or Halloween card or rolls of quarters at Christmas and birthdays. The girls learned that when they saw the quarters, they came from Aunt Pauline. It was a small tradition, but like so many things Pauline did, it carried a bigger lesson: take care of what you have, think about the future and give generously to the people and causes you love. Jerry and Stephanie have promised to carry on the quarter tradition.

Pauline knew exactly what she did and did not want at the end of her life. She did not want a funeral. She did not particularly like funerals, and there was no reason to start doing something she didn't enjoy just because she was gone. Instead, a small celebration of her life will be held at a later date. She will be cremated, with a portion of her ashes to be buried with her parents in Ballinger and another portion returned to the family farm she loved so much. After Jerry’s death, he will also be cremated, and their ashes will ultimately be combined and scattered in places that hold special memories from their life together.

Pauline was preceded in death by her parents, Charlie and Ella James; her brother and sister-in-law, Harrell and Queba James; her nephew, Jace James; father and mother-in-law, Leo and Lora Batson; brothers-in-law James Batson, Gale Batson and Glen Batson; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 63 years, Jerry Batson; her daughter, Stephanie Batson; nieces Rachel James and Jody Furlow; great-nephew Chance James and his wife, Stacy; great-niece Lacey James Hart and her husband, Blaine; and great-great-nieces Emma Kate James, Sadie Lynn James, Ruthie Grace James, Grayton Reed Hart, and Lainey Jace Hart.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to her favorite charity, the West Texas Boys Ranch in San Angelo (www.wtbr.org)

Pauline spent 85 years being a daughter, wife, mother, aunt, friend and the person her family could count on. She left behind a family who learned from her, friends who loved her, and a lifetime of stories that will continue to be told.

And somewhere, one can imagine, Dolly is still standing stubbornly in the middle of that stock tank.