Rebecca "Becky" Hawn Brown

Rebecca Hawn Brown “Becky”
5-18-1948 to July 17, 2026

Becky was born May 18, 1948, to Joe Verne “JV” and Martha “Marty” Hawn in
Jacksonville, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a
degree in education. Devoted from the start to the needs of others, she began
her career as an elementary school teacher in San Antonio and later at the
Brown Schools in San Marcos, working with developmentally and emotionally
challenged children. The work was pioneering for its time — children poorly
served by the state’s overcrowded institutions were only beginning to find real
therapeutic care in private residential programs. She was also a gifted
photographer and became the first woman photographer allowed on the field at
the Cotton Bowl during the Dallas Cowboys’ years there. Her passion for football
was a thread throughout her life with the Cowboy’s and later her beloved Denver
Broncos.
She met the love of her life, Stephen Theodore Brown III, “Steve,” while he was a
resident physician at the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and they
were married on December 20, 1975. Wherever they settled, Becky went to work
on the community. In Shreveport, Louisiana, she taught as a reading therapist at
Southfield Elementary. In Pueblo, Colorado, she helped found the International
Baccalaureate program at East High School. Her love of the arts ran through all
of it: she worked as a pottery artist for thirty-two years, beginning at CSU Pueblo,
where she met Vicki and Richard Hansen, who became dear friends; together
with Steve she sponsored visiting professors and workshops there for over 10
years and provided scholarship support for students of the university. She served
as art curator for St. Mary-Corwin Hospital’s new construction, completed in
2005. When Becky and Steve relocated to Beulah she continued her community
service as a donor and on the board of the Beulah Fire Protection and
Ambulance District amongst other community involvement.
Family was everything to Becky, and her love for hers was both fierce and full.
She raised her two boys, Stephen Theodore Brown IV, “Ted,” and Benjamin
Boughton Brown, “Ben,” with the deepest purpose and unconditional love. She
showed them what it means to serve others with authenticity and generosity and
expected nothing less from them. Together with Steve, she gave them a love of
adventure, exploration, and the natural world. Her generous spirit and sense of
wonder were at their greatest among her family, especially her beloved
grandchildren: Avery Frances Brown, Stephen Theodore Brown V, “Theo,” and
Griffin James Brown, children of Ted and Heather Brown; and Andie Reigh
Merson Brown and Jacob Blaise Brown “Jake”, children of Ben and Joanna
Brown.

Stray dogs, injured wildlife, and people in need all benefited from crossing paths
with Becky. She loved to travel and, with Steve, traveled the world with friends
and on medical missions. She found beauty in nature, big and small, and even
well into her seventies could be found hiking up Signal Mountain with her dogs in
tow. To know Becky was to love her. Whether on a hike, over a meal, or sitting on
the porch, to be in her presence was to feel deeply and authentically connected.
We will miss her dearly, but her incredible spirit lives on in her husband of fifty
years, her children, her grandchildren, and everyone who had the privilege of
calling her friend.
A celebration of her life will be held for close friends and family, date TBD.