Genece Madelaine Files

Genece M. Files,--Mother, grandmother, great grandmother, daughter, sister and friend--died at age 96 on October 20, 2017, in Colorado Springs. Viewing will be held at 10:00 am Monday morning at the funeral home. Family and friends will gather to celebrate her life at 1:00 pm Monday, October 30, 2017, in LaGrone Blackburn Shaw Coulter Road Chapel. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery. Arrangements are under the personal care of LaGrone Blackburn Shaw Funeral Directors, 8310 S Coulter Road.

“An attraction of unusual interest was the new white and gold uniform of the petite Band Queen, Genece Bautisto.” These were the words in a Globe News review of a 1939 Amarillo Sandie band performance which concluded with a description of Genece Bautisto in her new uniform as Sandie Band Queen. It has been 78 years since our Mother stood proudly in her gold uniform, but she has made a lifetime of contributions since her time with the Sandie band--to her family and to her community.

Mother’s contributions to the Amarillo community were wide-ranging and extended over many years. She became involved, first, in numerous activities in parent organizations, serving as president of the PTA at Will Rogers Elementary School and as the first president of the Robert E. Lee PTA. Her work in these offices began her life-long dedication to children of all ages. She became a secretary at Horace Mann Junior High School, and her most consistent statement to strangers when she introduced herself later in her life was that she worked “for twenty years in the school system” with children.

As she worked in schools, Mother also worked tirelessly in various civic organizations. The Globe News honored her in 2002 as the “Volunteer of the Day,” enumerating her work in the community as president of the Amarillo Business and Professional Women’s Club and Amarillo Federation of Women’s Clubs. She was a volunteer for the Salvation Army and participated in many Public TV fund-raisers that benefitted children’s causes as well as others in Amarillo. Before she moved to Colorado in her later years, she worked with her church to prepare meals for children who needed assistance with meals on weekends.

Genece is survived by her daughter, Linda and her son-in-law Leon; her son, James Files, and her daughter-in-law Tammy; her grandchildren, Greg Rorie, Shay Files, Jace Files, Janene Files and Shanah Winer; great grandchildren Adam Louis Files; Jacob Files; William Files; Christian Files; Julius Files Autumn Files; Noah Files Aili Files and Ashlyn Files.
But the story of the petite little band queen does not end. She lives in all of us who knew her in the 78 years since she stood with the Sandie band so many years ago. Those of us who loved her will remember how she always reminded us about working with the children in school or how she never failed to introduce herself as “Genece Files from Amarillo Texas.” Now, at last, she is back in Amarillo, to rest with our dad in her most treasured place.

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