Phyllis Ann Jones Tilley: Civic Leader and Community Advocate (1933–1996)

Phyllis Ann Jones Tilley, civic leader, daughter of Rolland Ingraham and Ruth (Hoopes) Jones, was born on February 18, 1933, in Phoenix, Arizona. Phyllis Jones lived with her family in Hawaii, where her father worked for Hawaiian Electric Company. However, by 1935 her family had moved to New Mexico and, around 1943, relocated to Fort Worth, Texas, where she spent the rest of her life. After graduating from Paschal High School in 1950, Jones attended the University of Texas at Austin and earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1954. While there, she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. On August 13, 1954, at the Robert Carr Chapel at Texas Christian University, she married Joseph Ainsworth Tilley. Joe Tilley, also a University of Texas graduate, had served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He went on to work for forty-eight years at what became RBC Dain Rauscher, an investment bank and wealth management company. The couple had three children.

Throughout her life Phyllis Tilley volunteered and served in leadership roles for numerous civic organizations and community projects. From 1963 to 1964 she served as co-chair for George H. W. Bush’s United States Senate campaign, which he lost to Ralph Yarborough. In 1968, as chair of the projects-community research committee for the Junior League of Fort Worth, Tilley began organizing to beautify the Trinity River. In 1969 she and a group of community members, which included architect Preston Geren, Jr., convinced the city council to create a Streams and Valleys Committee that would make recommendations for the preservation and beautification of the river. The committee evolved into a nonprofit organization in 1971 and was responsible for initiating numerous projects, including the building of Trinity Trails, the construction of Heritage Park, the installation of multiple dams to raise the water level, and the planting of thousands of trees along the banks of the river.

From 1972 to 1973 Tilley served as president of the Junior League of Fort Worth. In 1973, under her leadership, the league, along with the Fort Worth Parks and Recreation Department, the Tarrant County Water District, and Streams and Valleys, implemented the first Mayfest, an annual festival along the banks of the Trinity River. In 1975 Tilley was named the First Lady of Fort Worth at the Thirtieth Annual Altrusa Civic Award dinner. The award recognized her work in helping to revitalize the Trinity River. Tilley chaired the development committee for Heritage Park, built at the confluence of the Clear and West forks of the Trinity River on the site of the former U.S. Army outpost in Fort Worth (see FORT WORTH). In 1976 the newly-completed park hosted the Fort Worth Bicentennial Fourth of July celebration, of which Tilley also served as president. For 1977–78 she served as president of the Jewel Charity Ball.

From 1978 to 1985 Tilley served as the chair of the Van Cliburn Foundation, which was responsible for the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. She is credited with helping the organization achieve financial stability and gain international recognition. Renowned pianist Van Cliburn described her as “a civic leader, really, in every sense of the word.” In 1989 she was appointed the development director for the Arts Council of Fort Worth. Throughout her life Tilley served on the boards of many other organizations, including Planned Parenthood, the Fort Worth Opera, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. She was also a member of the Fort Worth Garden Club, the River Crest Country Club, and The Assembly.

Phyllis Tilley died on October 22, 1996, and is buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth. In 2012 the Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge, a pedestrian bridge spanning the Trinity River and connecting Trinity Park to downtown Fort Worth, was dedicated in Tilley’s honor.