Bettye Dukeminier Crawford Brown Bettye Lou Dukeminier Crawford Brown, almost 90, passed away on April 5th, Palm Sunday, a few hours after her husband, Charles, had passed. Although no funeral services will be held, her ashes will be scattered, along with the ashes of her life-long love, Charles Brown, in areas that had strong meaning for them and their family. Bettye was born on April 20, 1930, in Roswell, New Mexico, to John Price Dukeminier and Teddy Sugg Dukeminier. As a child and throughout her life, Bettye was a talented artist, adding color and beauty to every environment she was in. Bettye used oil and watercolors to create whimsical art, putting her artist’s touch on canvas, furniture, and clothing. She loved working her hands into clay to form sculptures full of emotion. Bettye carried her love of art and color with her, always encouraging others to notice the world’s beauty around them. Bettye graduated from Oklahoma City’s Classen High School in 1947 and from the Junior College of The Hockaday School of Dallas, Texas in May, 1949. When in the 6th grade, Bettye met the love of her life, Charles Homer Brown Jr. and invited him to accompany her to the upcoming Sadie Hawkins Dance. They dated throughout their school years and married on August 28, 1949. During the 1950s and 1960s, Bettye was a devoted wife to Charles and a loving mother to their children. After moving to southern Oklahoma with her family in 1971, Bettye saw the community need for an early childhood center. She then sought and received her Montessori School teacher certification and opened The Montessori School of Ardmore, Oklahoma. Bettye’s passion for the children, the school, and her community influenced the lives of hundreds of children and their families. In the mid-1980s, she retired and donated the Montessori materials to Oak Hall Episcopal School. Bettye and her husband, Charles, did everything together during their 70 years of marriage. They even spent the last day of their lives together, both under hospice care, passing away within hours of each other. Bettye is survived by her family: son, Brockton Brown and wife, Mary of Speedway, Indiana; son, Bradley Brown of Ardmore, Oklahoma; daughter, Jessica Pfau and husband, David of Ardmore, Oklahoma; granddaughter, Heather Moore and husband, Jeremy of Newburgh, New York; granddaughter, Teddy Pfau of Ardmore; and great-grandson, Damien Dukeminier Moore of Newburgh, New York. Memorials may be given to Ardmore Village, 1550 Knox Road, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73401.