Betty K. Hawkins

The only child of Gulf Oil Senior Vice President James B. Kelley and his wife, Elizabeth, Betty was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1929. She lived in numerous cities and attended ten different schools throughout her youth. New Orleans, Birmingham, Bradenton, St. Petersburg and Nashville were among the places she called home.

Few people are blessed with as many gifts as was blonde-haired blue eyed Betty Kelley. She was beautiful, intelligent, witty and a talented singer. During her senior year in high school she was on the Homecoming Court, named Miss West End High School and voted Most Attractive Senior Female. It was during her junior year, however, when her family lived in St. Petersburg, that 17 year-old Betty met her future husband, Richard C. "Dick" Johnson, at St. Pete High School. Dick went away to the University of Florida to study landscape architecture while Betty moved to Nashville with her family. Despite the 600 miles and three years of separation between them, the young couple stayed true to one another. They were married upon Betty's graduation from Ward Belmont College in 1949.

A few years after their wedding, Betty and Dick Johnson returned to St. Petersburg where their son, Kelley, was born. Betty was the perfect complement to Dick Johnson whose business acumen included banking, real estate and commercial development. Betty was past president of Sinawik, the counterpart to Kiwanis Club in Seminole, and served on many committees for First United Methodist Church in St. Pete where she also sang in the choir. She was a talented floral designer, a master gardener, a gifted seamstress and a flawless household manager.

Betty and Dick Johnson moved from St. Petersburg to Clearwater in 1986 where they lived for the remainder of their time in the world. After Dick's passing in 2001, Betty married Ken Hawkins of Clearwater who predeceased her in 2014. She is survived by her children from birth, marriage and adoption, R. Kelley Johnson (Renee), Terrell Hawkins (Jamie), Cheryl Hawkins McLain (Mike), Gina Johnson (Carol) and her beloved friends, Mark and Vicki Hein.

Betty's love of animals led to her patronage of Patriot Paws, a program that provides highly trained service dogs to wounded veterans. Her desire to help children led to her support of The Florida United Methodist Children's Home and to Clothes To Kids: an organization that provides school clothes to youngsters in need. If you wish to do something in Betty's honor, please make it a donation to one of those entities.

The family extends its love and gratitude to the entire village of people who cared so well and so deeply for Betty through the years, enabling her to age gracefully in her home. Per her wishes, a private celebration of her life will take place at a future date.