Betty Ann "Hannah" Brewer

Betty Ann (Hannah) Phillips Brewer was born July 25, 1942 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma to John William and Bessie Arizona (Rogers) Phillips. She passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Sunday, February 27, 2022 at the age of 79.

Betty grew up mostly in the Kenwood community and attended school at Kenwood, Kansas, and Jay. Later, she moved with her family to Texas where she met her husband John Brewer. They were married July 10, 1964, and were married for 28 years before he passed away in 1992. They worked side by side to provide for their family at a variety of endeavors, including owning a café and a full-service gas station. They enjoyed working together at everything from gardening, to auto mechanics, to cutting wood, to hauling hay. No matter how physically challenging the work was, Betty was working alongside her husband, and just as hard.Betty, also known as Hannah by her side of the family, loved to have fun. Her laugh was infectious and her smile truly did light up any room she was in. The party never really started until she showed up, always carrying her blue bowl filled with either macaroni salad, potato salad, baked beans, or coleslaw. She took great pride in the jobs she held—from cleaning houses to cooking to working as a teacher’s aide, and—her most favorite—driving a school bus. Generations of Peggs and Locust Grove students have fond memories of “Miss Betty.”

She loved to play guitar (and a little piano) and to sing—whether it was with her family, or as song-leader at church, or while she was cleaning house, or while she was rocking her grandkids—and everyone loved to hear that big, bold voice. Betty also loved to sew and was gifted, not only at making her own patterns, but at making clothes for her children that were just as beautiful or as cool (or more so) as any store-bought ones. For several years, she sewed ribbon shirts for the Chief and other dignitaries at the Cherokee National Holiday Pow-Wow, as well as many beautiful tear dresses. Betty was a full-blood Cherokee and citizen of the Cherokee Nation and was very proud of her heritage. She was feisty, spoke her mind, and was always ready to help her kids and grandkids come up with a good lie if they needed one. She loved a cigarette and the casino. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren could do no wrong in her eyes, and they were her absolute greatest joy. She loved them fiercely. She was full of resilience—working hard to take care of her home and property after her husband passed away and doing everything from mowing to tilling the garden to painting the house and fixing cars. She was full of ingenuity; she could make, build, or fix just about anything.

Her family was blessed by her influence. Hannah was the last of her generation, and was so loved and respected by the children of her brothers and sister and was pleased and honored to be there for them when they needed her.

She is preceded in death by her beloved “Punk,” John Brewer (she was his “Pie”), her parents, her beloved sister Josey Watson, her brothers Bill Lewis, Douglas (Buck) Phillips, George (Soggy) Phillips, Joe (Bo) Phillips, and several siblings who died in infancy.

She leaves behind her children, John Phillips and his wife Pamm, Kristi Walker and her husband Paul, Erna Reeves and her husband Cris,and Betty Stover and her husband Jim. She also had two stepsons who she loved, Johnny Harold Brewer and his wife Debbie, and Dennis Brewer and his wife Janelle, She is also survived by her grandchildren: Marty Phillips and his wife Kim, and their children Shannon, Tucker, and Jessica; Daniel Phillips and his wife Toni, and their children James and Lilly; and Sammy Phillips and his wife Haleigh, and their son Mateo; Kati Phillips, Keith Phillips, and Cecily Hix and her husband Kyle and their children Jeb, Zeke, McKenzie, Hope, Myles, and Alex; J.D. Reeves and his wife Megan and their children Arlo and Oak; Matt Foreman and his wife Emilynn and their children Ezra, Archer, and Wylee; Holly Hoffman and her partner Seth Alsenay and their children Blakely and John; Lance Hoffman and his partner Calley Stephens; and Cale Corntassel and his wife Kaitlynne and their children Bella and Grayson; and Jordan Stover. Shawna Smith, Melissa White, Carissa Crowley, and Megan Sanders were her other beloved grandchildren. Hannah will be dearly missed by her nieces and nephews (and great-nieces and nephews) and her special sister-in-law and best friend Nita Phillips.

Betty believed strongly in the power of family and passed that down all the way to her great-grandchildren. She knew how to show love, taught others how to show it, and in her own words, “Love goes a long, long way in this family.”