MARSHALL - Betty Ann Kelton Howell, devoted wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and friend, died on the evening of Oct. 9, 2023, at home in Elysian Fields near Marshall. She was 87.
She was born on Apr. 21, 1936, in Odessa, to Ben Neely Kelton and Vernia Stephenson Kelton. Her father was foreman on the O.B. Holt Ranch near Midland, and she started school in Tarzan. In 1947, when her father became the foreman of the C Ranch, headquartered in Andrews County, she began attending school in Andrews where she graduated in 1953.
As a Texas UIL typing champion, that summer she moved to Fort Worth to attend Durham Business College. She was awarded for her proficient secretarial skills, for typing 94 words per minute and excelled in shorthand. She attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene.She and Elmin Kimbol Howell, Jr met at H-SU in the fall of 1954 and married four months later on Feb. 13, 1955, in Abilene. When he was awarded a scholarship to George Peabody College, they moved to Nashville, Tenn. After he completed is Master of Arts degree there, they moved to Globe, Ariz., for a teaching and coaching job.
In 1959, they moved to Beaumont, where he served as minister of activities at First Baptist Church. In 1962, they relocated to Shreveport, La., to serve at First Baptist Church. During their six years in Shreveport, she taught kindergarten and led a seniors club called Live Long and Like It.
In 1968, her husband was called by the Baptist General Convention of Texas to develop the River Ministry along the Texas/Mexico border. They lived in Mesquite and joined Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church in Dallas.
In 2001, they moved to Rockwall, and in 2019, they relocated to East Texas. During their years in the Dallas area, she worked as secretary at East Grand Baptist Church and also for the BGCT. She was an avid college football fan and was known for listening to the radio or TV on most Saturdays while sewing and cheering on any college sports. She enjoyed embroidery and quilting.
She was preceded in death by her husband Elmin K Howell, Jr, and a sister Eddie Vaughn Kelton.
She is survived by daughter Kimberly Howell Todaro and son-in-law John P Todaro; son Paul S Howell and daughterin- law Amy C Head; grandchildren Zachary O’Dell (Jessica), Benjamin O’Dell (Nicole), Brannan Howell (Brittany), John R Todaro (Melissa); great-grandchildren: Killian, Jaedyn, and Laela O’Dell, Jackson and Joah Howell, Hannah and Ethan Todaro, a niece and nephew, Alise Burke (Bryan) and Rob (Aimee) Kelton.