Bertha M. Capps

Bertha M. Capps was born in the Spring Hill area near Mt. Pleasant, Texas on May 27, 1932 to James Aubrey and Pearl Estell (Storey) Pilgrim. She went to her heavenly reward surrounded by her family on October 24, 2023 at the young age of 91.

At age 4, after the death of her father, she was sent to live at Methodist Home Orphanage in Waco, TX with her two brothers and a sister where she lived for eleven years. She married her husband Carthol Lin (C.L.) Capps on June 4th, 1950 in Mt. Vernon, TX. They moved to Temple, TX in 1959 and they bought a 5 cabin motor court motel in 1961. In 1968 the converted one of the cabins into their auto garage, Capps Generator and Starter Repair/Capps Auto Repair”. Her husband died in 1973 leaving her to run the motor court and garage along with her two sons. She went to work every day and greeted all of the customers with a smile and cooked lunch for her sons and whoever else showed up to eat as well (and there were many) until a year before she passed. She was everyone’s mom or grandma. She is listed in the “Notable Women of Texas as the first female auto mechanic in Bell County Texas. She was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks Lodge #138, former president and member of Benevolent and Patriotic Order of the Does #139, Lodge #87 S.P.J.S.T., VFW Ladies Auxiliary Post #1820, March of Dimes Block Leader and former Bell County Election Official.

She was preceded in death by her parents, James and Pearl Pilgrim, her husband C.L. (John) Capps, brothers, Hubert L. and Aubrey B. Pilgrim, sister Reba Bernice Pilgrim Henley, and granddaughter Christie Dawn Welch. Bertha is survived by her sister Francis Christell Newman of Willis, TX, daughters, Pamela S. Welch and husband Wendell of Fort Worth, TX and Cathy L. Fojtasek and husband Marvin of Frisco, TX, son, Frank R. Capps and wife Pam of Temple, and Willie D. Capps II and wife Drenda of Temple. She is also survived by 8 grandchildren, Joshua, Megan, Sara, Michael, Sabrina, Dawn, Haley, and Katey, 13 great-grandchildren, and two great-great- grandchildren, and a whole host of nieces and nephews.

Visitation will take place at Scanio-Harper Funeral Home on Saturday, October 28, 2023 from 3:00pm – 5:00pm. A funeral service will be held on Sunday, October 29, 2023 at 3:00pm at the funeral home.

A visitation will also take place on Monday, October 30, 2023 from 1:00pm – 2:00pm at Macon Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, TX followed by a graveside service at 2:30pm at Macon Cemetery in Mt. Vernon.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Texas Elks Children Services Inc., 1961 FM 1586 Gonzales, TX 78629-9674 or your favorite Charity.