Elizabeth Slater Dudley

Elizabeth “Betsy” Slater Dudley passed away from natural causes on October 30, 2020 in San Antonio, Texas, in the company of her children and loving husband of 34 years, Brooke F. Dudley. She was born on April 24, 1937 in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of Vernett Brannon Slater and Betty Aldredge Slater.

A sixth generation Texan, Betsy is a descendant of General George Whitfield Terrell, who served as secretary of state for the Republic of Texas and chargé d'affaires to France, Britain and Spain. Other early East Texas forebears include the McNutts and Robert S. Munger, who invented the cotton gin. Betsy was raised in Dallas amidst the artistic grandeur of her grandmother, Rena Munger Aldredge, who was known for her outstanding talent as a flower designer, hostess and artist. Betsy would later write a book, Rena’s Gospel of Beauty, documenting her grandmother’s creations. Christmas at the Aldredge house remained legendary and Betsy carried these traditions forward with her famous Christmas candy and other magical touches, much to the delight of her grandchildren.

Betsy developed a love of the great outdoors while fishing and hunting with her father and she nurtured this love throughout her life, surrounding herself with the beauty of nature, whether at her ranch in Blanco, where she restored a 19th century German homestead, or at her home and art studio, where she created a green oasis and garden of white flowers.

After graduating with honors from the Hockaday School in 1955, Betsy attended Mount Vernon College and SMU, where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority. She met her first husband, William Webster Atwell, while she was a Duchess in the Order of the Alamo’s 1957 Coronation, when he was her Duke. With Bill she had three children, Adrienne, Billy and Betty. The young family moved from Dallas to Midland to Roswell during Atwell’s early career in oil and gas, where Betsy was a member of both the Dallas and Midland Junior Leagues and the Roswell Assistance League. They settled in San Antonio in the early 1960s, where Betsy served leadership roles in the San Antonio Junior League, Women of Episcopal Church, San Antonio Literacy Council, the Southwest School of Art and Craft, KLRN, the Green Hand Garden Club, Alamo Heights/Terrell Hills Garden Club, the Charity Ball Association and other organizations too numerous to count.

Betsy and Bill divorced in 1984 and she married Brooke in 1986, gaining another daughter, Catherine, who she loved as her own. Brooke brought—and continues to bring—great humor and cheer to all extended family gatherings. Together Betsy and Brooke made their home in Blanco for many years where they entertained friends and family, from 4th of July parties to unforgettable Christmas Eves. A green thumb always, she produced a bounty of peaches from her orchard and vegetables from her garden which she shared with many.

Betsy continued to develop her career as an artist, attending Anderson Ranch in Aspen and the San Antonio Art Institute. She was renowned for working in a variety of media and has had many one-woman shows throughout the years, while her work was included in countless group exhibitions. Betsy’s art has been placed in both public and private collections locally, nationally and internationally. Her geometric sculptures are documented in a catalog and may be seen in many collections including Neiman-Marcus in San Antonio. Her colorful appliqué tapestries were also documented in a catalog, Peaceable Kingdom, which accompanied her most recent exhibition at Cappy’s in 2019. Betsy taught art classes not just professionally and at the San Antonio Detention Center, but shared her talent with her grandchildren, inviting them into her studio to build and paint sculptures and explore the scraps of yarn and fabric in rainbow arrays of color.

“Life is not a dress rehearsal,” Betsy always said, and she lived hers, accordingly, bringing everyone together with her thoughtfulness and love. She remembered everybody’s birthdays and wrote letters too beautiful to throw away. She built her life as she did her art, creating a layered richness of friends and family and filling the lives of those around her with authenticity, warmth and kindness. The color of her presence lives on in those whose lives she touched.

Betsy is survived by her husband, Brooke F. Dudley; sister, Gertrude Slater Best, of Dallas, Texas; daughter, Adrienne and her husband Dirk Bogaerts, of Andorra; son, William Hawley Atwell and his wife Wendy, of San Antonio; daughter, Betty Atwell, of Nashville, Tennessee; stepdaughter, Catherine and her husband David McDonough of Los Angeles, California; and seven grandchildren, Alexandria and Jonathan Atwell; Annie, Cita and Ally Atwell; and Malcolm and Cassie McDonough. The family wishes to thank Angel Garcia, Juanis Gonzales, and Aurelia de la Garza for their loving care.

Due to Covid, a celebration of Betsy’s life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to ArtPace, Blue Star Contemporary, the Children’s Art Project at MD Anderson, the San Antonio Botanical Center, the San Antonio Library Foundation, Sunshine Cottage, Texas Parks and Wildlife, or the charity of one’s choice.