Congressional aide Elaine Talley helped Abilene residents untangle red tape

A funeral service is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday for Elaine Talley, who for 25 years helped untangle red tape for constituents of what was then the 17th Congressional District.

Talley, 85, died on Flag Day. Her service will be at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, followed by a graveside service at 3:30 p.m. in Rosemont Cemetery in Wichita Falls. Visitation will proceed the funeral from 9 to 10 a.m.

Talley joined the staff of U.S. Rep. Omar Burleson's 17th District Abilene office on Feb. 1, 1974, as the House was gearing up for the possible impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

She worked for Burleson for five years and stayed on as another Democrat, Charlie Stenholm of Stamford, was elected to the office.

"One of the many things I learned from Omar Burleson was the importance of a Congressman’s staff in serving the people of the 17th District," Stenholm said. "Elaine Talley was one of those special people he selected, and I later became the beneficiary of, an individual with a unique and very special human talent to serve the people of the 17th."

Talley continued to man Stenholm's Abilene office until her retirement in Jan. 31, 1999, ironically as impeachment proceedings were taking place against President Bill Clinton.

In a Reporter-News story upon her retirement, she said she had met more than 50 members of congress. One who made the biggest impression was Texas congresswoman Barbara Jordan.

"She was vary liberal and (Stenholm) was very conservative, but they were extremely good friends," Talley said in the article. "... On more than one occasion, she'd say, 'I'm going to vote for it, so you probably need to vote against it.'"

Much of her time was spent helping constituents having problems with the IRS or Immigration and Naturalization Service. She said her most rewarding service was helping families adopt foreign children, including Romanian orphans.

"The countless hours she spent listening to the needs and complaints of the people, and acting to devise solutions where possible to meet those needs, was appreciated by so many," Stenholm said. "Also conveying the feelings of the people, the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly was her job and she did it very professionally and the results showed."

Upon her retirement, Talley noted an increasing lack of civility and respect for opposing viewpoints.

"You see it in Congress and you see it in the people. They're more inclined to display their anger than they used to be," she said in the article. "When I first started working people would call and ask for something or ask you to do something. Now many of them call and demand it."

Talley was born March 7, 1933, in Waco, and reared in Wichita Falls. She married Hugh C. Talley Jr. in 1949 and divorced in 1958. They had two children: Steve and Debbie.

The family moved to Abilene in 1964 where she was Ross Tippett's secretary at Tippett & Gee, Consulting Engineers, before entering the Congressional field. She attended school at night and graduated with honors from Cisco Junior College.

Elaine was active in her professional field, serving as president of the Texas Association of Legal Secretaries and vice president of the National Association, among other offices.

She was on the Taylor County Extension Service Leadership Advisory Board for many years; participated in organizing the Food Bank of Abilene, and active at Aldersgate United Methodist Church. 

Stenholm said, "One of the many things I learned in my 26 years serving the people of the 17th District was that I couldn’t get much done, but we could. Elaine was a significant and very constructive part of the "we" for Abilene for over 25 years."