H.R. No. 1361



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The city of Austin lost a beloved resident and an 
admired businesswoman with the death of Eleanor Helen Liebscher Nau 
on April 9, 2005, at the age of 95; and
	WHEREAS, The cofounder of the Austin landmark, Nau's Enfield 
Drug Store, Eleanor Nau continued to keep the store's books, using 
an ancient adding machine and paying the employees cash in brown 
envelopes, until her retirement at the age of 87; and
	WHEREAS, Born in Giddings on November 12, 1909, Mrs. Nau 
attended business college in Dallas after graduating from Giddings 
High School; a tall and elegant beauty, she married the love of her 
life, Hilton Ernest Nau, on September 28, 1945, in San Antonio, 
after he returned from World War II; and
	WHEREAS, In partnership with Mr. Nau's brother, Ladner, the 
couple opened their first drugstore, Nueces Drug Store, soon after 
they married, working long hours to develop the business; in 1951, 
they opened Nau's Enfield Drug Store in Clarksville, an enduring, 
old-fashioned pharmacy complete with a soda fountain and lunch 
counter; and
	WHEREAS, While Mr. Nau, a pharmacist, filled prescriptions, 
Mrs. Nau kept the books and purchased knickknacks for the store; an 
outgoing person with a sharp wit, she loved to talk to customers at 
the lunch counter and viewed her employees as family; as she and her 
husband were die-hard fans of The University of Texas Longhorns, 
they frequently hired UT students to work in the store and took them 
into their home and hearts; the Naus sold the business in 1972 to 
one of those former students, Lambert Labay, who still owns the 
store today and who insisted that Mrs. Nau continue to keep the 
books after the sale, which she did for another 25 years; and
	WHEREAS, In addition to handling bookkeeping and purchasing 
for the store, Mrs. Nau was an active member of First English 
Lutheran Church and a dedicated volunteer with St. David's 
Volunteer Auxiliary Association; and
	WHEREAS, Nau's Enfield Drug Store stands today as an eloquent 
reminder of its original owners, Eleanor and Hilton Nau; Mrs. Nau 
will also be remembered for her bountiful love for her husband and 
for her nieces and nephews, her exceptional talents as a cook, and 
her lasting beauty; even as her health failed her, she refused to 
relinquish her trademark red lipstick and red fingernail polish, 
and was a true southern lady to the end; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Eleanor Helen 
Liebscher Nau and extend sincere sympathy to the members of her 
family:  to her nephews and nieces, Marvin and Rita Christiansen, 
Charles and Edna Christiansen, Vernell Christiansen Kruemcke, 
Carol Anne and A. J. Stayton, and her niece-in-law, Florence 
Christiansen; to her sister-in-law, Kathryn Nau; and to her other 
relatives and friends; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for the members of her family and that when the Texas House 
of Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Eleanor 
Helen Liebscher Nau.

                                                                          Hopson


                                                  ______________________________
                                                       Speaker of the House     

	I certify that H.R. No. 1361 was unanimously adopted by a 
rising vote of the House on May 9, 2005.

                                                  ______________________________
                                                     Chief Clerk of the House