Evelyn Helen (Koch) Fillinger, 96, of D'Hanis, TX, died of pneumonia Monday, 20 April 2009, at Medina Regional Hospital, Hondo. She was born 31 October 1912 at D'Hanis to August M. Koch and Ida (Nehr) Koch. She was the second of two children. Her mother died when Evelyn was 3 years old and her dad lived at the ranch most of the time, so she was raised by grandparents and aunts and uncles. She said she often slept in a different bed every night. To get to school, she walked or rode her horse. She left school during her final year to help her grandparents, Charles and Louisa (Rudinger) Nehr, with their domestic work. She endured the great flood of 1935 by sitting on the roof of the house with her dad, brother and their dog. Evelyn married Joseph G. "Joe" Fillinger 23 January 1937 at D'Hanis. They moved to San Antonio to find work, where Joe drove a semi-trailer truck for Southwestern Motor Transport (SMT) and later worked as a truck mechanic for International Harvester during World War II. Their son, Tommy Joe, was born during that time on 17 January 1941. They returned to D'Hanis in 1951 to help Evelyn's dad and brother take care of the ranch. She remained a housewife/homemaker for the rest of her life. In later years Joe and Evelyn made a few trips traveling around the United States and one trip to the Alsatian region of France in 1978, to visit with the family of Joe's mother. Joe died on 28 March 1998; they were married for 61 years. Evelyn enjoyed many things, including quilting, family reunions, and deer hunting. She shot her first buck in 1960 and her last buck in 2003 at the age of 91. She was a member of D'Hanis Holy Cross Catholic Church. She is survived by her son, Thomas J. "Tom" Fillinger of D'Hanis; and sister-in-law, Bernice (Etter) Fillinger of San Antonio; also many nieces, nephews and cousins. Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Maurice Koch. Visitation will be Wednesday, 22 April 2009 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., with the Rosary at 7:00 p.m. at Guinn-Horger Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be Thursday, 23 April, at 10 a.m., at Holy Cross Catholic Church in D'Hanis, with interment following at Holy Cross Cemetery. The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the charity of your choice.