Betty Sue Beebe
“That’s not right,†Mom said, pointing to a short obituary. Then she switched to a nice, long announcement. “This is good.†This was the only clear thought that day in 2021.
Betty Sue, the sixth of eight red-headed children, was born 1939 in Celeste, TX to Luther Herschel Craven, Sr. and Pansy (Wells). Her older siblings would remind her she had it easy riding the cotton sack and not ever actually picking cotton like they had to as a tenant farming family. The ease in her life increased when the family moved to Greenville and enjoyed the convenience of indoor plumbing.
Betty Sue graduated from Greenville High School in 1957 where she was a choir member for all 4 years. During high school, she felt God’s calling on her life for special service in missions and knew that meant college. Betty Sue would attend the Class of ’57 reunions held twice a year at a local barbecue joint up until 2021. One of her proudest accomplishments was working with a class committee to fundraise and establish an endowed scholarship benefiting the 3rd ranked student of the GHS graduating class each year.
In 1961, Betty Sue received her BS in Home Economics from Mary Hardin-Baylor College, becoming the only one of eight Craven children to graduate from a four-year college. “My parents encouraged me, although they only had a 7th and 8th grade education.†Betty Sue developed great, life-long friendships with many, but especially those from the north end of Stribling Dorm, affectionately called the North End Gang. She participated in 3 Easter Pageants, complete with matching red beards, and she continued to sing throughout her college years. She served with the Baptist Student Union and two years with the Invincibles doing summer missions in New Mexico.
Upon graduation, Betty Sue went to Mullin, TX to teach homemaking, but also ended up coaching the girls’ basketball team and serving as the Pep Squad sponsor for the 6-man football team. It was during this time the local Ford dealer taught her how to drive a standard when taking the white Ford Falcon with red interior out for a test drive. She promptly bought the car and took a carload of Future Homemakers of America to Dallas with only a few miles of driving experience.
After teaching one year, God made it clear Betty Sue was to get on with her education and preparation for the next step in His plan by applying and enrolling in Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for the next month. After “cramming a 2-year degree into 3,†Betty Sue received her Master of Religious Education degree in 1965. She was preparing for the foreign mission field, but the Lord had other plans. She became Director of Youth Activities in Fort Worth and then Pasadena, TX even though it was still unusual for a female to serve in this capacity on a church staff.
It was while working for First Baptist Church, Pasadena that her apartment roommate talked for several months about this handsome fellow who moved in. Bob teased that Betty Sue didn’t take notice of him until he traded in his Volkswagen for a snazzy white Buick Riviera. Eventually, Betty Sue met and married Robert (Bob) E. Beebe in September 1968. It was a good thing they had a month-long honeymoon, including a few days in the Bahamas, because two children followed within two years, each born in the month of September. Betty Sue served as bookkeeper and secretary for Bob’s construction business until 1972 when the young family moved to Ft. Worth for Bob to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Unfortunately, Bob became very ill and passed away two days before their 8th anniversary in September 1976. Betty Sue had anticipated teaching home economics once both kids were in school, but that did not happen. She took some courses to pursue her doctorate but decided that was not the best choice due to the ages of her children. She became an instructor and GED test administrator for several years with the federal prison. She enjoyed success with inmates passing the GED, but, more importantly, she taught the nephew of a major mafia leader from the Northeast and led him to a profession of faith in Christ. Despite all that had happened, Betty Sue still sang, taking her kids many times to worship services at the prison where she would sing special music selections.
In 1981, Betty Sue became the Director of Alumni Affairs at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. She only expected to work at UMHB for 3-4 years, but it turned into a 36-year career. Grateful for a name change, she moved from directing the “affairs†of alumni to Director of Alumni Relations, Director of Alumni Association, and then Director of Alumni Development. She was a fount of knowledge of UMHB attendees and history. After retiring the first time from UMHB in 2009, she put that information to good use as the Museum Curator, which opened May 2010. In 2016, she received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the UMHB Alumni Association. She retired for the second time in 2017. Her legacy and love for the museum live on in a room named after her.
Upon moving to Belton, Betty Sue joined First Baptist Church, where she served with the singles and college Sunday School departments for many years. She enjoyed all things UMHB and especially enjoyed cheering on the Cru football team since the inception of the program.
Though she became an empty nester over 30 years ago, she filled her days with productive work promoting religious education through UMHB, church, and traveling often to visit her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed antiquing, musicals, museums and travel within the USA as well as to Hong Kong, China, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England and Scotland.
So, here’s to a “good†nice, long announcement, a life that was full of the faithfulness of Almighty God through difficult situations. Betty Sue can now remember a litany of names, faces, words and skills that have eluded her lately, but that is no longer important as she has seen her Savior Jesus Christ. Betty Sue Beebe, 85, of Belton, TX passed away Friday, January 10, 2025. She is survived by her daughter Sharon White and husband Kelly of Temple and son James Beebe of Buffalo, NY and four grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband, Bob, her parents and seven siblings.
A memorial service will be held 11:00 am Wednesday, January 15th at Scanio-Harper Funeral Home Temple, Texas. Visitation will be an hour prior to services. Betty Sue will be laid to rest with her husband Bob in Caddo Mills, Texas, but they have already been enjoying a reunion in heaven where they are both singing.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts be made to the Betty Sue Craven Beebe Endowed Scholarship at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Gifts may be sent to UMHB Development, UMHB Box 8433, 900 College Street, Belton, TX 76513.
A special shout out and thank you to the kindness of the Belton Whataburger folks who knew us for our Friday lunches, her bank and the Belton Post Office employees who helped her with unrelated questions, her postman Keith who knew she needed someone to send her mail and found someone who needed to write letters, the Belton Police Department who assisted us in a difficult situation, the HEB employee who made Mom her Cranberry Pecan Turkey Salad sandwich when there were none, the neighbors who would watch for her on her walks, and the family at Big Tex Auto who didn’t know anything was wrong with Mom until she pulled out a $20 and asked for $5 in change, because after all the vehicle was on sale for $15 – thousand that is. Thank you to those who cared for Mom at Stoney Brook, Bluebonnet Hospice and Visiting Angels. Dementia in all forms is difficult, but kind people are precious, and we are grateful.
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