Neighbors say Ellen Musgrave was found deceased after a fire at her Southill Road home.
SAN ANTONIO — Long-time neighbors say everyone who lives on their block along Southill Road owns their home, some for 50 years or more.
That’s why the grief runs deep after a well-loved, 78-year-old neighbor was found dead in her home as firefighters fought an early-morning fire with thick, choking smoke.
Neighbors identified the single woman, who lived alone, as Ellen Musgrave.
As word spread about the loss, a steady stream of neighbors came to share their memories and their heartache.
“She’s been here since, I believe, 1973,” said one of those neighbors, Susan Garcia. “I’ve been here since 1975 and she was one of the first people to greet me and my husband here in our neighborhood when we moved in. I was 21 then and I’m 70 now.”
Garcia was one of many people who said Musgrave’s home was a magnet for everyone.
“This sanctuary is almost like the Garden of Eden, all done by Ellen Musgrave,” Garcia said. “She’s a lover of birds, of nature. She was a nurse and she’s just a beautiful, positive-attitude person. You couldn’t get any better than that.”
Garcia said the fire was discovered around 3:30 a.m. Thursday by a neighbor on his way to an early-morning workout session.
“And he tried to get in and apparently he called the police, but they couldn’t get in and they called the fire department,” Garcia said.
Of the closeness they enjoy on their block, Garcia said the world would be a better place if more people were like Musgrave.
“Because sometimes, you know, we’d all step on each other’s toes, but we always forgave each other and we always help out each other with fallen trees, trash cans that are left out, if somebody’s gone away for a week, we all know we take care of each other on this street,” Garcia said.
Neighbor Tina McCurdy echoed the sentiments, calling Musgrave’s contributions to the area vital.
“It is paradise. It’s whimsical, it’s fun, it’s lively, it’s enchanting!”
McCurdy said Musgrave loved people, pets and plants.
“She has beautiful birds, big birds, and she’s got chickens and she’s got a lovely garden that she grew almost anything and everything (out of),” McCurdy said. “It was her oasis!”
McCurdy said Musgrave belonged to the Texas Master Gardener Program and freely shared her love of all things outdoors with anyone who wanted to learn.
“I would come and help my friend Ellen in her garden and she was a mentor to me for what I thought I knew a little bit of. She was helping me get to the same level of loveliness here at my house,” McCurdy said, adding: “I’m far from that, but she just had a joy and a pleasure with all of this.”
McCurdy said her neighbor might have picked the solitude of her garden, but she always chose to help others.
“She was a beautiful soul, and she will be missed,” McCurdy added. “She will be missed.”
Both women said Musgrave had extensive plans for what would happen with all of her precious things upon her death.
They say two of her beloved dogs, Bandit and Charlie, escaped the fire by using a pet door. A third dog, they said, died near Musgrave in the bedroom they shared.
In her backyard oasis, which features a flourishing garden and chicken coop, five parrots in large enclosures also survived the ordeal. Neighbors said all the animals have a care plan in place and all their needs will be seen to as heirs work to settle Musgrave’s estate.
With regard to a cause, officials have not released one yet, but they said the worst of the fire damage was confined to the bedroom.
Neighbors said the entire home has heavy smoke and water damage.
Late Thursday, the Bexar County medical examiner ruled Musgrave’s cause of death as inhalation of the products of combustion, but there is not yet a ruling on her manner of death.