Bette Katherine Kiefer

Bette Katherine Kiefer, age 75, passed away unexpectedly in her home in the early morning of March 22nd, 2023, in San Antonio, Texas. Bette was born in the small mining town of Morenci, AZ to Crawford and Betty Marie Benn and would spend most of her childhood and adolescence in Oklahoma and New Mexico. She attended Portales High School in Portales, NM before receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree from Eastern New Mexico University and certification in Special Education from Pan American University after moving to McAllen, Texas. She would go on to an over forty-year career in education in Mission, Port Isabel, and San Antonio, Texas.

Being the older sister to three younger brothers, a devoted mother and dedicated teacher, Bette’s life was one of constant care and compassion. She approached the world with an open heart, inner resilience, and warm sense of humor that allowed those around her to depend on her steadfast presence, and she was rewarded with lifelong friends, the unending love of her family, the respect and love of fellow educators, and the knowledge that she changed countless young lives for the better.

Bette had a wide-ranging interest in art, literature, and history. Her favorite artists were Vincent Van Gogh and Andrew Wyeth, and her musical taste ran from the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony to just about anything by the Bee Gees. She attended the musical Les Miserables at every opportunity. She had a special interest in the English monarchy and the life and times of Teddy Roosevelt, but in her later years was often content to sit with her beloved cat, Cali, and listen to mystery novels on audiobook. She had many adventures traveling across the United States but in her adult life it was the ocean that called to her more than anything else. The only thing she loved more than watching the sun rise over the Gulf of Mexico was watching the sun set into the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon coast. She requested that her ashes be scattered on the beach of a small Oregon town where she spent many summers.

Bette was preceded in death by her mother Betty Marie (Hall) Benn and her father Crawford “Buck” Haskell Benn; brothers, Barry and William Benn; and sister, Joan Riddle. She is survived by her son, Nathan Kiefer of San Antonio, TX; brother, Robert Benn of Seminole, OK; sisters-in-law, Joyce Benn and Sherweeta Benn, as well as many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and nephews. Also mourning her passing is her second family, the faculty, staff, and students at John Marshall High School where she taught for three decades and will never be replaced in their hearts.