Beverly Wood Krieger

Beverly was born on August 1, 1935, in Spur (Dickens County), Texas at the home of her maternal grandparents, J.R. and Dee Laine. A few days after her arrival, Beverly travelled with her parents, Horace Brumbelow Wood and Clarice Laine Wood, and her sister, Margaret, to their home on the Wood family ranch located along the banks of the Salt Fork of the Brazos River in Kent County, Texas. At the ranch she was greeted by her paternal grandparents, Anderson and Maggie Wood. When Beverly reached the age of five, her parents bought a home in Spur, so that she and her sisters could attend public schools. During her time at Spur High School, she played flute for the band as well as the organ and the piano for the First United Methodist Church. She participated in the youth activities of the Northwest Texas Conference for the Methodist Church and graduated as the valedictorian of the class of 1953.

Beverly attended Texas Tech University as an undergraduate, studying Visual Arts Education. She was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, was active in the Wesley Foundation, and was selected for Junior Council and Mortar Board honors. Following her graduation from Tech in 1957, she worked as a graduate assistant during the summer at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (affiliated with Pi Beta Phi) in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Her graduate studies continued in the field of art education at the Pennsylvania State University, where she was privileged to study with professor Viktor Lowenfeld. Beverly completed her masters in education in May of 1958. That summer she worked as a counselor and art teacher at Camp Waldemar near Hunt, Texas.

In the fall of 1958 she moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where she taught art at Whittier Elementary for a year and married Jerold Harrison Krieger. Beverly also taught middle school art and social studies. The art coordinator for the school district was Brent Wilson, an artist who became a close friend. She served as the assistant art director for the district for a year. Beverly also taught children’s art classes each summer at the University of Utah. Both of her children, Scot and Melissa, were born in Salt Lake City (Scot in 1961 and Missa in 1963 respectively). In 1964, Beverly returned to Texas and settled in the Memorial area of Houston. She was active in the PTA of Frostwood Elementary school, where her children attended, starting the art education program at the school. Beverly also taught after-school art classes in Spring Branch ISD which were associated with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. She was a member of Memorial Drive United Methodist Church and later Chapelwood United Methodist Church.

While raising her children, Beverly began her doctoral level graduate studies at the University of Houston. As a teaching assistant she taught undergraduate courses for the art education program and supervised student teachers in Houston ISD as well as suburban school districts. She developed publications for the art education program related to competency-based teacher education in place at that time. Beverly’s dissertation was entitled “A Descriptive Study of Spatial Presentations in Children’s Drawings”. After completing her Doctorate in Education, Beverly taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in education at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, where she supervised student teachers in the art education program and co-authored two articles published in the Journal of Art Education.

After her divorce in 1984, Beverly was invited to join the faculty at Texas Tech University, where she taught courses to undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts for eight years. While at Tech, she worked with members of the faculty to apply for a grant from the Getty Center for Education in the Arts. Texas Tech was one of the few universities to receive the grant funding, and Beverly directed the associated program.

Beverly was then invited to join the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin, where for six years she supervised the prospective art teachers in their student teaching experiences in the Austin, Round Rock, and Lake Travis ISD’s. While on the Texas faculty, she became a charter member of The University of Texas Club. After retirement from UT, she taught for a couple of years at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Beverly’s summer travels as a child with her family to Santa Fe, New Mexico inspired her purchase of a home in “the City Different” after retiring from her professional career. During her time in New Mexico, she was active in the local Pi Beta Phi alumni chapter. She was also appointed by Texas Tech Chancellor John Montford to serve on Tech’s public art committee, a group which began building a public art collection considered at the time to be among the top ten for institutions of higher learning in the United States. Beverly also served Tech on the Dean’s Circle for the College of Visual and Performing Arts. In addition, Beverly was on the Board of Governors of Arrowmont.

Citing a desire to be closer to her children and grandchildren, Beverly moved back to live in the Barton Creek area of Austin, Texas for the remainder of her life. She enjoyed her grandchildren immensely and was extremely proud of all of them. She attended numerous swimming, basketball, soccer, football, lacrosse, and baseball events in which her grandchildren participated.

Beverly passed away on August 20, 2021, after a long battle with dementia. She was predeceased by her parents as well as her sisters, Margaret Wood Brannan and Priscilla Wood Neaves. She loved her nephews and nieces: Steve Brannan, Rhonda Brannan Low, Ross Brannan, Bill Neaves, and D’laine Neaves Rutledge. Beverly also adored her cousins Tanner, Nancy, and Jim Laine. She is survived by her children Melissa (“Missa”) Laine Mayes (Jon) of Lakeway and Scot Wood Krieger (Erin) of Austin as well as her grandchildren Sutton Mayes of Charlotte, Sam Mayes of Austin, Torrey Krieger of Atlanta, Blair Krieger of Denver, and Preston Krieger of Austin.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Beverly’s honor to the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Texas Tech University or the First United Methodist Church in Spur, Texas.