Dorothy Nell passed peacefully to her heavenly home on December 14, 2023, with her daughter by her side.

Dorothy was born in the Rehobeth Community in Panola County, Texas, to Albert Lee Faucett and Naoma Youngblood Faucett. She began going by Nell in first grade when she shared the name Dorothy with five classmates.

Nell loved growing up on a farm and had many stories of their life, including all the animals and her many outdoor adventures with her father. She graduated from Carthage High School and married Robert Jacobs later that year. He was in the U.S. Navy, stationed in San Diego.

She would drive from Texas to California with only her parakeet for company when his ship came in port, live there for six months before he deployed again, and then drive back to East Texas.

After Robert’s Navy service ended, they moved to Pasadena, Texas, where their daughter was born.

Nell had a lifelong career in sales, beginning as a cashier at the dime store in high school. As a young mother she did home parties for Sarah Coventry jewelry. After her divorce she continued in sales, mostly in office supplies, an uncommon career path for women in the early 1960s.

In the 1970s she and her husband had a successful office machine and bank equipment business in Houston, and she was a highly regarded sales representative in the early days of paper shredders and copy machines.

Single again, Nell became active in craft shows and flea markets, which led to 23 years as a shopkeeper at the Texas Renaissance Festival, with Camelot Ye Olde Gift Shoppe.

Nell took up her old hobby, ceramics, and made all the wares she sold. A favorite of her customers was toilet paper frogs and she made hundreds, if not thousands, over the years.

In the 2000s she became one of the “sample ladies” at Walmart and continued with that until COVID shut the work down in 2020.

She was 84 and still loved to go to work a few days a week and visit with all her customers. During her “sample lady” days she began to use Dorothy again. Nell was a strong, independent woman who had a great sense of adventure, and she role modeled this well for her daughter. She was a devoted mother, determined to prepare her daughter well for life.

She had a small group of women friends, all single moms with daughters, and they and their girls made many fun memories with lots of stories to tell.

Nell loved to travel and especially enjoyed anything around salt water. She faced many challenges in her life and was a great example of keeping your head up and continuing to move forward.

She believed strongly that we all will feel better about our own circumstances if we spend time being of service to others. Nell was an active member of both VFW and American Legion and the Women’s Auxiliaries and Cooties.

For many years she served as a volunteer at the V.A. Hospital in Houston and received many service awards. In her final years her strong will and faith were evident as she never gave up on working to get better.

Nell spent most of her life in Houston and moved to Boerne in 2013 to be near her daughter. She is survived by her daughter, Sherri Layton and son-inlaw Steve; her grandsons and granddaughters-in-law, Brian and Nina Davenport, and Travis and Jennifer Davenport; and her four great-grandsons, Thatcher, Forest, Elliot and Austin. She was so very proud of all of them. Nell looked forward to the birth of her great granddaughter in the spring. She is also survived by her niece and great nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her older sister, Margaret Lee Faucett Peteet, and the brother who died before she was born, Clyde Edwin Faucett. She was laid to rest with them at Rehobeth Cemetery in Carthage, Texas on December 20 following a graveside service.

She was also preceded in death by her long-time partner, Tom Thornton, her son-in-law, Mark Davenport, and her niece, Naoma Lee Beatty Walshaw.

The family is grateful for the care she received at Cibolo House Morningside Ministries at Menger Springs. We appreciate the staff’s kindness and concern for her and all the residents.