Bettye Nelson

Bettye Nelson, a long-time resident of the Austin/Hutto area, died Thursday, the 12th of February, at Clare Creek Home in Pflugerville, Texas.

Born in 1929, in Waco, Texas. Her parents were Annie Elizabeth Bewley, of Waco, Texas, and John Melvin Dixon, of Moody, Texas. Bettye lived her early childhood years on Bewley Road in Waco before moving to Oglesby. Growing up poor during the Depression made a major impact on her and motivated her to take advantage of educational opportunities when they presented themselves.

After enrolling in college at 16, Bettye received a Bachelors degree in Art and Advertising from Mary-Harding Baylor in 1949. She received a Masters in Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Bettye continued her education at Texas A&I in Kingsville, Texas earning a degree in education. She went on to earn a certification in Library Science and a Master's Degree in Bilingual Education from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bettye was no stranger to hard work. At a young age, she was picking cotton and working odd jobs with her family and working in her father's general store in Oglesby, Texas (west of Waco). She supported herself while at Mary Hardin-Baylor by working at the school and as a missionary in Northern California. Bettye worked as a housing hostess at Ridgecrest Baptist Assembly in Asheville, North Carolina. She served as a youth director at four different churches in Texas: First Baptist Church in Kingsville, Columbus Avenue Church in Waco, First Baptist Church in Temple, and Crestview Baptist Church in Austin. She worked as a graphic artist in advertising in Austin, Temple, and Waco. Bettye taught elementary school in Waco, Temple, and Austin. She served as a librarian at Rosewood, Palm, and Sanchez elementaries in Austin and ultimately retired as art teacher at Sanchez Elementary. She was the last librarian at Palm and the first at Sanchez.

She was a Christian and was committed to serving and helping others. She taught Sunday School, was the church pianist, and served as church librarian at Crestview Baptist Church. Bettye was an avid reader and had an eclectic collection of books. And if she found a book with a map in it, she brought it home! She enjoyed traveling with her family and camped in almost every state in the country, as well as Mexico and Canada. In her free time, you would often find her in her art studio or in her rocking chair with drafting board and pencils in her lap, drawing up new designs. In fact, she and her husband, Bill, built their Brushy Creek home using her architecture plans! She had a life-long love of art, and as an artist, her favorite medium was watercolor and her favorite subject was irises. Bettye loved to be outside, tending to her garden and flower beds. She was immune to poison ivy and could clear brush all day. She didn't mind getting dirty as long as she ended her day with a cool Dr. Pepper.

The most important things in her life were her family, faith, and learning something new everyday. Her motto was, "Just Do It!"

She is survived by her husband of 57 years, William Oren Nelson; her three sons, Carl, Merrill, and Howard; her daughter-in-law, Susanne; her granddaughters, Teresa (her husband, Patrick Prindeville) and Angelee; great-granddaughter, Jules; and numerous nieces, nephews.

A graveside service will be held at Oakwood Cemetery in Waco, Texas on Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 12:00 noon. She will be laid to rest wearnig her wedding dress and holding her Bible and willl be buried next to her mother.

The Nelson family would like to thank the owners and staff of Clare Creek Home for their dedicated and loving care of Bettye.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Capital of Texas Chapter Alzheimer's Association.