Dewberry, Betty F.

Betty Dewberry died in Houston on April 19, 2016.  She was 93 years old.

Mrs. Dewberry was the daughter of J.C. and Ruby Fitzhugh of Augusta, Arkansas.  She graduated from Augusta High School and attended Arkansas State Teachers College (now Central Arkansas University).  She then moved to Little Rock where she briefly worked at the State Capital and met her future husband, Julian Dewberry, a native of Searcy.  After they married, Betty and Julian moved to Memphis, and in 1956, Julian was transferred by his employer, Weil Brothers Cotton Co., to Fresno, California, where they resided for 30 years.  Betty took to California and all of its diverse treasures.  She loved weekends in San Francisco and Carmel, and Sunday drives to the Awhanee Hotel in Yosemite.  After Julian retired, they spent half the year in Betty’s beloved Palm Springs, and the other half in Augusta, where they remodeled the Fitzhugh family home overlooking the Courthouse and wove themselves back into the fabric of southern life in their own distinctive way.  Julian died in 2005, after which Betty moved to an independent living facility in Houston, where her son John Dewberry and his wife Julie reside.  For family and friends from Kingwood wishing to pay their last respects, there will be a local memorial service at Darst Funeral Home located on Russell Palmer Road just off Northpark Drive at 4:00pm, Saturday April 23.

Betty was a true southern belle, from the time she was crowned homecoming queen until she was in her 90s.   Always stylish, she would never venture from her home without tending to her hair and make-up and accessories.  She loved Somerset Maugham, Frank Sinatra, tennis bracelets and her XJ-6 (right up until she crashed it into a garbage truck), but she also treasured her rosary and the serenity prayer.  She was one of a kind, a woman of distinction and wit.

Betty is survived by her son John Dewberry and his wife Julie, her son Michael Dewberry and his wife Patti (formerly Patti Revel of Augusta) in Pasadena, CA.  She also has three grandchildren Allison Bartkowski and husband John, and Patrick Dewberry of Houston and Julian Dewberry and wife Julie of San Diego.  She also has two great grandchildren, Jordan and Taylor DeMasters of Houston.

We would be remiss if we didn’t also give a special thanks to Joyce Hall, who was her devoted caregiver during the last few years of her life.

Betty was a parishioner of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in McCrory and in lieu of flowers would invite contributions to Catholic Charities USA.

The family is planning a grave side memorial to be scheduled this summer in Augusta.