Namesake

Julia Newton Aue Elementary School pays homage to a dedicated, beloved educator as well as her pioneering family, which played a pivotal role in the birth and development of the Leon Springs community.

Julia Newton was born in San Antonio in 1910 and graduated from what is now Fox Tech High School in 1928. The daughter of a Bexar County Commissioner was raised with the expectation that she would go to college, and Julia earned a degree in bacteriology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1933. She had plans to go to medical school but the Great Depression hit and made it financially impossible.

Her first job out of college was teaching at the rural Mackey School, where she worked until she married. Her husband, Rudolph Aue, Jr. was the grandson of Max Aue, the founder of Leon Springs who, in 1881, donated the land for the first one-room school in the town. Max Aue's son, Rudolph Aue, Sr., opened a gas station, garage, and grocery store in 1929 that would later become local landmark Rudy's "Country Store" and Bar-B-Q.

Julia worked in the family store and raised her two children, Betty Ann and Rudolph III for 20 years. After her children graduated from Northside, Julia returned to the classroom in 1957, teaching fourth grade at Locke Hill Elementary School. She later became a special education teacher.

During her 20-year career with Northside, Julia was a high-energy teacher who would go to any lengths to help a student, her former colleagues say. Always armed with a positive attitude, she had a unique way of connecting with children, particularly those with special needs. A former student recalls how Julia helped him and his classmates understand the assassination of President Kennedy; another student said Julia inspired her to be a teacher.

Julia retired from John Glenn Elementary School in 1978, giving her an opportunity to dedicate more time to her other passions, including her church. She served as an elder and sang in the choir at the Leon Springs Presbyterian Church, which was built on land donated by the Aue family. She also became a published poet and was active in several service organizations, including the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Order of the Eastern Star

Julia died in 1995 at the age of 85, but now, as the namesake of a Northside elementary school, she will continue to inspire future generations of children.