After 53 years of filing taxes, Deleta Brindley will step away from the bookkeeping business this coming January. She is the owner of Brindley Bookkeeping in downtown Brownwood. Over her entire career, she has served thousands of clients, filing hundreds of thousands of taxes for the people of Brownwood.
“There have been days when there was a little over a hundred tax returns in a day’s time, come in,” said Brindley. Now, she files an average of 400-500 tax returns each year.
Over her entire career, Brindley has used only pencil, to pen, and now computer. But even in the modern age she still uses hard copies on file, protecting her client’s information and having backups for the IRS.
Together, with only the help of her husband, Deleta Brindley had done a successful job at helping clients. Gary Brindley answers the phones, goes to the bank, and other duties for her to focus on the people walking in her door.
“There were so many years…I have to work as late as it takes to get everything done.” Brindley works by herself and has for much of her career. She remembers staying at the office until anywhere from 1-4 in the morning, getting clients taxes done.
Brindley was supposed to retire this year at the end of tax season. But she will not walk away just yet until all her clients’ files squared away.
“I know that there’s a lot of my clients who would love to have these old files after so long,” said Brindley “I’d love to hand them over rather than us have to burn them or shred them or whatever. We got a lot of work ahead of us,” she chuckled.
One can tell Brindley is a woman who cares about the people who come to her for help. Even if there is a line out the door, she is known for taking time to understand as much of her client’s situation as possible. “[My mom] liked to take the time to ask questions and I picked that up too,” said Brindley. “I don’t like people to feel like I am rushing them.”
Deleta Brindley has lived in Brownwood since she was 13 years old, moving from Merkle with her family in 1963. Her Father, a Marine and Airforce Veteran, worked at 3M and then Montgomery Wards before it closed down. Her mother started Kings Bookkeeping in Brownwood with her sister-in-law in 1964.
Brindley’s mother originally began filing her brother’s taxes due to his disability. Once she saw there was money to be made, Brindley’s mother got into the bookkeeping business.
“She started it, and had her sister-in-law to start helping her, and they took tax returns in. At the end of the day, they would check each other’s work,” explained Brindley. She also explained that other than having two typists, they would do it all on pencil. “I don’t know how they did the volume they did,” Brindley concluded.
“I started in ‘69 typing, and the next year in ’70 I started doing the tax returns.” After Brindley graduated Brownwood High School in 1968, she began working what would soon be her career for many decades to come.
Kings Bookkeeping started on West Commerce street in 1964, then moved to the corner of Main Street and Baker. In 1986 the business moved to where it is now, 314 Brown Street in downtown Brownwood. Brindley worked for her mother over twenty years, before taking over the business.
“My mom had it as Kings Bookkeeping until 1990 and in April of that year, I bought it from her, and then she worked for me for a few years and I changed the name to Brindley Bookkeeping.”
In her retirement, Brindley hopes to spend much time with her husband Gary, a retired army veteran. The Brindley’s met on December 20th of 1969 at Fort Hood. She saw him walking one night and offered him a ride around in her 1966 SS 396. “I did not have to twist his arm,” Brindley laughed.
They went riding around and then he asked her out on a date the next Saturday night. Their third date was on New Year’s Eve. That once clock struck midnight, Gary asked her to marry him. “We knew each other 11 days.”
52 years later they have they have two sons, and a total seven grandchildren with two great grandchildren. Her entire family and clientele are excited for her retirement after 53 years. Deleta Brindley is a hard-working, self-made woman, that has served our community through determination and love in helping all who came through her door.
[Story by Jake Lehrer]