Corliss Toman Elsesser

On October 4, 1937, the booming metropolis of Pearsall, Texas, the greater Frio County area, and the world at large were blessed with the birth of Corliss Clara Toman. All the aforementioned lost this light in the early evening of June 24, 2025, when Corliss moved on to her next adventure. She will be unspeakably missed.

The second child of Corliss Covault Toman and Edith Rowell Toman (nee Lowe), Corliss Clara entered the world with an intrepid spirit, a robust sense of humor, an open mind, and an unparalleled case of hay fever, all of which she maintained throughout her existence on this plane.

Raised in her beloved hometown of Fort Worth, Corliss was in turn a proud Meadowbrook Buffalo, an R.L. Paschal Panther (Class of 1955), and a TCU Horned Frog (Class of 1959). She was a longtime member of the Meadowbrook United Methodist Church.

A lifelong educator, Corliss began her teaching career in the Fort Worth ISD at A.M. Pate Elementary. After answering a newspaper ad placed by the Department of Defense, she signed on for a stint educating the children of United States Airmen on base at Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Misawa, Japan. It was in Misawa where Corliss met her then future and now former husband Lee, whom she married in1965. After time spent in scenic Hastings, Nebraska and slightly more exciting New York City, Corliss and Lee returned to Fort Worth where they started (and finished) their family by welcoming yours truly into the world. Corliss continued her teaching career, shaping 5-year-old lives at Fort Worth’s St. Luke’s in the Meadow Episcopal Day School and The White Lake School.

In 1979, in concert with a tightly knit and semi-rogue band of other passionate advocates for premium education for their own children and the students of the DFW community at large, Corliss participated actively and tirelessly in the foundation of The Oakridge School, helping direct the school’s mission and build its curriculum, and initially teaching kindergarten and art. Ultimately, she was offered the role of her lifetime as Head of The Oakridge Lower School, which she wholeheartedly embraced. Concurrently while serving in that position, she earned her Master of Education Administration degree from TCU. Corliss lovingly, loyally, and ever so vocally remained the Lower School Head until her retirement in 2010 at age 73.

Things you should know: Corliss loved every child she ever met, and she adored it whenever she was privileged enough to see the adults you became. She loved every single dog she ever encountered, period—with special preference for her childhood ones and the ones we shared. She loved her family—both those genetically related and her friends she gathered close and held dear—I can promise she loved you fiercely until you left her or she left us. (If you are MY friend, she loved you extra, even those of you who never met her, because she absorbed my affection for you). She loved the teachers she worked with and was so proud of how you championed your students. She rooted for the underdog, she spoke up on behalf of whomever and whatever she believed in, and she did so whenever and wherever, even when inconvenient; she taught everyone she mentored to do the same. Corliss loved laughter and she was grateful for any laughs she shared with you regardless of how inappropriate the timing or the inspiration. She loved beautiful shoes. She loved Christmas and left her Christmas tree up all year round. She truly, above all, just wanted you to spit out your gum, spell things correctly, and to live life with laughter, love, and respect for one another. She would be unbelievably humbled and grateful to be remembered but would not want you to be sad.

Corliss was preceded in death by her parents Edith and Corliss Toman, her nephew, Stuart Rowell Toman, cousins Henry Martin, Ford Martin, and Linda Eatonson, and by many treasured friends. She is survived by her daughter Emily Elise Elsesser, her brother John Rowell Toman, her sister-in-law Bert Kirkhoff Toman, her nieces Melissa Hope Toman, Julie Ann Toman (husband Geoff Irvine), and Debbie Toman Armstrong, her beloved grand nieces and nephews, a community of loving friends, and her Oakridge family.

A celebration of Corliss’s life will be held at 3 PM on Saturday, September 6, 2025 The Fine Arts Performance Hall at The Oakridge School 5900 West Pioneer Parkway Arlington, TX 76013.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Corliss’s name supporting The Oakridge Lower School. Please do not feel moved to wear black unless it is just your favorite— Corliss kept it colorful, and we will too.