West
Geneva Pierce West, born Geneva Morene Pierce in Winnsboro, died July 1, 2026, in Austin with family by her side.
Long before it was common, Geneva went into business for herself, opening her own beauty salon in Brazoria County — one of the first businesses of its kind in the area to be owned outright by a woman. It was an early sign of the woman she would become: independent, particular, and determined to build a life that bore her own signature.
Years later, she sold the salon to her closest friend, Betty Thomas, and the two began again together, opening one of the first women-owned skin care establishments in the county. Geneva’s eye for beauty and presentation did not stop there. She also created The Rose, a women’s lingerie boutique, extending her sense of style into another business built around how women saw and carried themselves. Taken together, those ventures reflected something central about Geneva: she believed presentation mattered, and she had the nerve to build businesses around that belief before many women were encouraged to do so.
Geneva went on to serve as president of the homeowners’ association at Columbia Lakes and later became closely associated with the life and identity of the resort itself. Wherever she went, Geneva had a way of finding the center of the room.
She served as an election clerk in both Brazoria County and San Antonio, and she followed public life closely. A lifelong conservative, she was known for having strong opinions, a sharp point of view, and little hesitation in sharing either.
Geneva believed a woman should always look her best, and she dressed like she meant it. She loved clothes, beauty, and presentation, building a wardrobe that outlasted any single occasion to wear it. She was also a gifted pianist, and even in later years, she could still find her way through an old favorite with grace and feeling.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Horace Lee Pierce and Dixie Morene Pierce, and her brothers, Alvon “Boe” Pierce and Kenneth Pierce.
She is survived by her children, Darlene Strahan and her husband, Lynn; Sharlene Bohr; Susan Iglinski; Sonja Guenter; and Jason Lewallen and his wife, Poncie; her grandchildren, Lindsey Hahn, McKenna Lewallen, Jade Lewallen, David Lewallen, Payton Guenter, Jana Mehl, Jeremy Strahan, and Gina Bohr; and eight great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, July 18, at 2 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 201 North Rusk Street, Fayetteville.
Geneva spent her life building things of her own: businesses, a name, a place in the community, and a life unmistakably marked by her presence. She leaves behind four generations who will remember her in their own ways, and a life that was, from beginning to end, entirely hers.
Family and friends can view and sign the guestbook online at
Arrangements have been entrusted to Koenig-Belvill Funeral Home & Cremations in La Grange.