LISE MARTIN PUTNAM LIDDELL

1935-2015

Lise Martin Putnam Liddell, 79, died on Saturday, the 2nd of May 2015, in her home, surrounded by friends and family. She was one of triplets born on the 7th of September 1935, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Their birth was a headline in the New Orleans Times Picayune, and made national news, as triplets rarely survived. She then grew up in Abbeville, Louisiana.

While attending Southern Seminary, Ms. Liddell won an award for best-dressed girl on campus. She later earned a degree in U.S. History from Vanderbilt University, where she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. She was the first woman to wear pants at Vanderbilt.

As a young woman, she moved to Houston and married Frank A. Liddell, Jr., with whom she had three children. She lived in Houston the remainder of her life, but retained her Louisiana heritage by hiring renowned architect A. Hays Town to design the home she would cherish and cultivate for the next 50 years. Her home was her greatest pride, except, perhaps, for the magnificent azaleas she planted in front of it. The Louisiana state flag still adorns the front porch.

Ms. Liddell applied her expertise in U.S. history by serving as a docent at Bayou Bend, where she guided tours through the house and gardens. She was also a talented cook, and possessed the versatility to create a wide array of dishes on the culinary scale, from shrimp casserole to chipped beef, all loved equally by friends and family.

Ms. Liddell was a southern lady with Cajun flair. She could spend the day hunting alligators in a t-shirt, jeans and cowboy boots, and host an evening gala in an elegant gown, exquisite jewelry, and a pair of custom-designed Stuart Weitzman shoes. Her interests transcended her generation. She loved Audrey Hepburn and John Wayne, and in 1988, at the age of 53, sat in a second row seat for Michael Jackson’s Bad concert. She spent her favorite evenings, though, with a glass of Dom Perignon and a good chat in front of the fire with her dear friend of many years, Mr. Johnnie B. Campbell.

Ms. Liddell was particularly skilled in the art of communication. Her wit was as quick as it was sharp, and she loved to hear a good story nearly as much as she loved to tell one. She was a persuasive woman, who spoke with charm when possible, and with expletives when necessary, and, in her own words, was “proud to have taught my children to cuss properly.”

In 1982 Ms. Liddell donated American painter Robert Jenkins Onderdonk’s 1903 masterpiece Fall of the Alamo to the state of Texas. Governor William Clements, Jr. came to her home to accept the painting personally, and it still hangs in the entrance hall of the Governor’s Mansion today.

Ms. Liddell was a prominent, long-time supporter of the Virginia Military Institute. She funded the restoration of Stonewall Jackson’s horse, “Little Sorrel,” one of the VMI Museum’s favorite attractions, as well as the restoration and preservation of the flag Jackson carried at the battle of First Manassas, where he acquired his famous nickname. She also donated Citizen Soldier, an 1890 bronze statue by French sculptor Georges Colin, which stands watch over the Liddell Room in the Preston Library. In 1985, she established the Lise P. Liddell Endowment in special support of the VMI Museum and its programs, which remains the primary source of funding for that endeavor. In 2014, the Museum named its Reference Library in her honor.

Ms. Liddell was preceded in death by her father, Emmet Perkins Putnam Jr. and her mother Ruth Argue Putnam.

She is survived by her three children Lise Marie Liddell, Frank Austin Liddell III, and Robert Bruce Liddell. Also Frank’s wife, Lea Ann Liddell, and their daughters Anna Lise Liddell and Aubrie Lee Sellers.

She is also survived by her older brother Emmet Perkins Putnam III and his wife Marilyn “Mellie” Fisch Putnam; her brother George Argue Putnam (one of the triplets) and his wife Sylvia Brown Putnam; and her sister Mrs. Ruth Putnam Carter (one of the triplets) and her husband Dr. R. Edward Carter, Jr.

Ms. Liddell’s family wishes to thank Rosa Flores, Rhonda and David Orazio, and Margie Hill who worked and cared for Ms. Liddell for many years with loving kindness, and were like family to her.

Ms. Liddell’s family also wishes to thank Irene Franz, Glenda Gayle Nicholson, Mark Hall, Rob Condon and Sylvia Perales, and Colonel Keith Gibson for their many years of love, loyalty, and friendship.

Ms. Liddell’s family wishes especially to thank Dr. Rebecca Clearman and Susan Alteman as well as Nory McMillian, and the rest of the nurses and caregivers who made Ms. Liddell’s last weeks comfortable and peaceful, and for nurturing her family during that time.

A memorial service is to be conducted at half-past two o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday, the 9th of May at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 101 East Vermillion Street in Abbeville, Louisiana with the Rev. Geoff Coupland. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held at Lise’s childhood home, 601 North Louisiana Street in Abbeville, Louisiana.

Prior to the service, the family will have gathered for a private interment at Graceland Cemetery in Abbeville, Louisiana.

Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Larry Wieck, George Putnam III, Tommy Putnam, John Putnam, Mac Putnam, Ed Carter, David Orazio. In Memoriam honorary pallbearer, Johnnie B. Campbell.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests memorial contributions be directed to The Lise Putnam Liddell Endowment in special support of the VMI Museum, Virginia Military Institute, 309 Letcher Ave, Lexington, VA 24450 (540) 464-7230.