Beulah Audrey (Hegwood) Howard

Beulah A Howard (Butch), passed from this life on January 30, 2022.  A Memorial Service will be ,11 am Saturday, February 19th at Community of Christ, located at 3701 Belmont, Waco.

She was born on October 7, 1932 to Elzie and Hattie Hegwood. She was the youngest of five children and lived the majority of her youth in Houston and Dayton, TX. All of her siblings and their spouses preceded her in death.

She married the love of her life, Bill Howard, on July 4th, 1952 and remained married for 63 years until his death in 2015. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother to four children, 10 grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren. She also had many close friends who she considered family, as well.

She worked with her husband for years at the family business and then went back to college later in life earning her Bachelors degree in Social Work. She worked and retired from the State of Texas as a Social Worker for the aged, blind, and disabled. She was a fierce advocate for those less fortunate and saw the worth of all people regardless of color, race, or creed. In the early 70's she chastised the leaders of the KKK, through a series of letters to the Vidor Vidorian, for their racist beliefs and actions.

Beulah also helped found and establish a food bank for those in need in Woodville, TX called Caring is Sharing. She continued throughout her time there to work hard to rally local churches and organizations to support it, and it is still active today. She and her husband Bill always had gardens and she frequently put food boxes together, using their own produce and delivered them to needy clients. She was a second generation Community of Christ member and held the priesthood office of Elder. She loved serving at church and rarely missed an opportunity to be present to serve and worship.

She and Bill loved to travel, owning several different Rvs and visited most of the US. Alaska was one of their favorite destinations because of its beauty, it also gave them the opportunity to visit her sister, Elsie and their family. She loved going to Country and Western music venues to see her favorite artist, Barbara Mandrell being her number one favorite.

Family was so important to her, always staying in touch and visiting her brothers and sisters. She personally knew all of her nieces and nephews and was always proud to host them for a visit to their farm for some down time or just an opportunity to go goofing off in the country with uncle Bill.

By her words and actions, Beulah made sure to teach her children how precious family is. Her children and extended family continue those connections and traditions today.

Alzheimer’s finally took her January 30 when she was set free to be made whole again and reunited with her Bill and all her other family members that went before her. We are grateful that she is now at peace and well and that she was such a big part of our lives.