Barbara Earle surprised with party celebrating her 80th birthday

On Saturday, April 8, friends, family, and neighbors gathered to surprise Barbara Earle in celebration of her 80th birthday. The party was organized by her children, Judge Elisabeth Earle and Jason Earle, and restaurateur Clay McPhail, a long-time friend of Barbara and the Earle family, hosted the event at his 5280 Burger Bar. Family friend Phil Swann of Phil Swann Photography was on hand to capture the surprise and the festive occasion for old friends to reconnect and celebrate.

Told that she was stopping for a quick lunch before a family photo session, Barbara walked into a room filled with well-wishers from every decade of her life. Childhood friends and family members who had traveled from far corners of the state, colleagues from her career at the State Bar of Texas, and neighbors from across generations were on hand to enjoy surprising Barbara and celebrating her big day. Her grandchildren, Alexandra Leissner, Avery

Leissner, Adelaide Earle, and Elias Earle were there to celebrate their “Mimi”, and even the youngest kept the secret until the big day. For more than fifty years, Barbara has lived on the same quiet street in Northwest Hills. Over five decades, she’s watched the neighborhood grow and become central in a much-larger Austin than the one she moved to as a student in 1963. Her children, and her grandchildren, attended the same Northwest Hills neighborhood schools and three generations have stayed connected to friends in the close-knit community that each of them loves. Barbara has long been involved in the community but one experience of which she is most proud is her work with the Anderson High School Women’s Golf team on which two of her granddaughters played. Current and former coaches and players from that era were on hand to reminisce about their days on the links and gathered for one more team photograph.