TYLER — The founder of the well-known boutique and restaurant in Tyler, the Potpourri House, died on Saturday at the age of 89.
According to the Potpourri House, Carol Ann Ellsworth, who died at Mother Francis Hospital surrounded by friends and family, initially founded the business with her husband, Frank Leslie “Les” Ellsworth II, on Front Street in Tyler in 1981.
Since then, the Potpourri House has been a popular destination for Tyler natives for over 40 years. The business was later passed down to Ellsworth’s son.
“Carol served as the visionary with Les for the business that has now been thriving in Tyler for more than 45 years,” the Potpourri House said. “Carol loved the Lord and her family and friends. She will be greatly missed.”
TYLER — Temple Grandin, a prominent autism advocate and leader in the cattle industry, will appear at several Tyler Junior College events this month. Grandin is widely known for her work in animal welfare and autism awareness. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she was diagnosed with autism at age 2. She experienced challenges with speech and social interaction early in life but developed a strong interest in reducing stress in livestock. Her ideas were initially met with skepticism in the cattle industry, but they later transformed cattle handling and housing practices across the United States. Grandin went on to become an influential voice in autism advocacy.
TYLER – On Saturday, Richard DeFreece of Tyler stopped by the King’s Academy Upper Campus gymnasium to attempt to make 250 paper airplanes, in just 60 minutes. Our news partners at KETK report that DeFreece was able to complete the feat on camera, with multiple timekeepers and in front of several witnesses, who helped count the planes and made sure they could all fly. He’ll have to wait for Guinness World Records to review the evidence of his attempt before verifying his new Guinness World Record. DeFreece said the previous record was for 200 paper planes made in an hour. For 250 planes in a hour, around 4.16 paper planes a minute had to be made. 
UT Tyler researchers recently conducted a study to see if health patterns in East Texas aligned with pre-COVID-19 data and they found that East Texans have a shorter expected lifespan than most Texans, according to our news partners at KETK. Research analyst Manuel Reyes and his team at the Hibbs Institute for Business and Economic Research took a look at 23 East Texas counties and found the average life span in this region is 75, which is four years less than the state average. 
