Betty Jane Bledsoe

After graduation from Childress High School she attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas as a music major in violin. After three years she transferred to Peabody Conservatory of Music, a branch of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. She received her diploma there and then joined the San Antonio Symphony in 1948, playing with the orchestra for four seasons. There she met her husband George Bledsoe. They were wed in Childress on May 27, 1951.

Mrs. Bledsoe served as Concertmistress of the Austin Symphony Orchestra in 1951-52 while her husband completed graduate work at the University of Texas. Later, she was for many years a member of the Amarillo Symphony. Also, she obtained her B.Mus. degree and Teachers Certification at West Texas State University in 1959. She taught public school music and gave private violin lessons for many years in Amarillo.

After obtaining a Librarian Certificate she served as a high school librarian until her retirement in 1983. At this time she and her husband moved back to San Antonio where she became active in the "Tuesday Musical Club" and for a time served on the board of the "San Antonio Chamber Music Society". While at SMU she was a member of Mu Phi Epsilon, Alpha Lambda Delta, and Sigma Kappa Sororities.

Betty was a member of Laurel Heights United Methodist Church.

She is survived by five nieces, Betsy Hamilton, Mary Morgan Carper and Ann Preston, all of Bryan, Texas, Sally Preston of Crowley, Texas, and Suzanne Smith of The Woodlands, Texas.