Betty A Brown

Elizabeth Ann Brown, affectionately known as Betty, passed away peacefully on December 29, 2016 in the presence of her loving family. Betty was born April 30, 1930 in St. Louis, Missouri, the only child of William Conrad and Anna Ruth Thompson. She attended the University of Texas at Austin in the Plan II Honors Program, where she met and married Jack, her husband of 67 years.

The mother of six sons and two daughters, grandmother of thirteen grandsons and ten granddaughters and great grandmother of four grandsons, her life was a celebration of faith and family. Betty had a generous heart and cherished each birthday, anniversary and holiday to share her love and affection. She also had an adventurous spirit and enjoyed traveling the world with family and friends and relaxing in the summer at their lake home in Horseshoe Bay.

Betty was very active in her Catholic faith. She and Jack were founding members of St. Louis Catholic Church, St. Theresa’s Catholic Church and the St. Monica’s Holy Family Guild. In 1974, she was honored by Bishop Reicher and received from Rome, the Papal title, Lady Commander of the Holy Sepulchre. As a resident of Austin since 1947, she was actively involved in the community, most notably, the annual Jack Brown Cleaners Coats for Kids Program, which provides over 35,000 winter coats to less fortunate children in the Austin area. She has served as Chairwoman of the KLRU Auction and was an active member of her local Garden and Bridge clubs.

She is preceded in death by her parents, William Conrad and Anna Ruth Thompson, and her son, William Jeffrey Brown. She is survived by her husband, Jack; her son Steve, wife Dede, granddaughter Stephanie; daughter Gail McPhail, grandson Tyler, granddaughter Taylor and husband Daniel; son Terry, wife Irene, granddaughters Jordan, Madison and Karrington, grandson Gunnar; son Kevin, wife Kathy, grandson Gregory, granddaughter Lauren and husband Mike; Jeff’s wife Valerie; grandson Will and wife Taylor, grandson Craig and wife Amy and great grandsons Cooper, Carson and Cash, grandsons Cole and Dalton, granddaughter Candice and husband Bryan and great grandson Anderson; daughter Mary Lauren Laney, husband Terry, grandsons Colby and Casey; son Paul, wife Ave, grandsons Paul and Justin, granddaughters Christiana and Juliana; son Michael, wife Tamsen, granddaughter Dillon, grandsons Conrad and Thatcher.

A visitation with family will be held at 5:30 pm on Monday, January 2, 2017, with a rosary at 6:30 pm, at Cook Walden Funeral Home, 6100 N. Lamar, Austin, TX. Funeral Mass will be Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at 10:00 am at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, 4311 Small Drive, Austin, TX, with interment at 1:00pm at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery.

The Brown family wishes to thank all the excellent caregivers at St. David’s Hospital ICU and Rehab Center.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Betty’s honor to Coats for Kids online at www.jlaustin.org/coats or P.O. Box 28159, Austin, TX 78755.