Life & Legacy of

Bettye Hall Drummond

A beloved matriarch, pastor, lawyer, administrator, community activist, teacher, children’s advocate, military veteran, advisor, and an ever-encouraging voice to all who knew her, Reverend Dr. Bettye Faye Hall Drummond was called to her heavenly home on October 8, 2025.

Born on December 18, 1938, in the mill town of Sugar Land, Texas, Bettye Faye was the oldest child of Prosper Alexander Hall and Helen Rivers Hall. She spent her early years in what was known as the bottoms—across the tracks—in Richmond, Texas, and attended elementary school in the quarters of Sugar Land.

Determined to provide their daughter with a quality education, Bettye Faye’s parents arranged for private piano lessons in Richmond and later enrolled her at Saint Peter Claver, a Catholic boarding school for Negro students in San Antonio, Texas, where she remained until leaving for Houston to attend high school. In Houston, she studied classical piano under the famed Dr. Charles P. Rhinehart of Texas Southern University and graduated from Jack Yates High School in 1955 at the age of 16.

A bright and determined young woman, Bettye Faye captured the hearts and attention of all who knew her. Eager to pursue higher education, she attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1955, and Texas Southern University in 1956.

In 1957, Bettye Faye enlisted in the U.S. Air Force where she proudly served her country and met her beloved husband, Lt. Alphonso Lee Drummond. They married in 1959 and had four children: Alphonso Linn (1961), Jay Alexander (1962), Tracy Ellen (1963), and Helen Elizabeth (1968).

Bettye Faye accompanied her husband on his tours of duty across the country and abroad.  Upon returning from Seoul Air Force Base in Korea, in 1964, she continued her education at the University of Illinois in Champaign while the family was stationed at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois. After the family settled in Houston in 1969, she earned a B.S. in Finance from Texas Southern University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the prestigious Thurgood Marshall School of Law in 1976. In the early 1970s, Dr. Drummond made history as the first Black intern in the City Attorney’s Office of the City of Houston. Additionally, she was selected to be one of the “student hosts” for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall for the dedication of the new Law School building in 1976.

A tireless advocate for civil rights, Bettye Faye worked with Operation Breadbasket, collaborating with Houston-area activists in pursuit of equal justice and opportunity. She also co-developed Houston’s first Black-Brown Business Directory, now housed in the University of Texas, Austin Library. She continued her community support throughout her life serving on political campaigns and serving her community civic club as president of the Harbach-Ripley Neighborhood Center for several years.

Dr. Drummond was truly a woman of many gifts—her career, business, and creative pursuits reflected a life of passion and purpose. In addition to her advocacy, she excelled in financial planning, insurance, and art sales. She worked in accounting for United Gas Pipeline before serving several years as a senior tax analyst for Cabot Oil & Gas and, upon retirement, she answered another calling: investing in the future of youth.

In the mid-1990s, Dr. Drummond became a special education and career investigations teacher in Houston ISD, and later a middle school administrator in La Marque ISD, inspiring and uplifting countless students. She understood hardship and injustice, which gave her an extraordinary ability to empathize, connect, and uplift others. Through grace and perseverance, she spent numerous years caring for her mother. She also survived cancer and proudly guided four children through college.

Never one to rest on her accomplishments, Dr. Drummond answered her spiritual calling in the early-2000s, attending seminary and once again breaking barriers by becoming an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church at the age of 69. Under the mentorship of Windsor Village, she served the Lovelady, Texas community with grace, compassion, conviction, and unwavering faith, offering spiritual guidance and leadership to all in need.

Being a pragmatic realist at heart, her innate resilience, and her profound gift for encouragement made her a powerful and compassionate advocate for her children, their friends, her students, parents, cousins, church members, and the many lives she touched through her ministry and daily life.

In her free time, she devoted herself to family and creative expression. She loved arranging flowers for special occasions, decorating her home—an ongoing canvas of painting, sewing, wallpapering, tiling, reupholstering, and rearranging. Bettye nurtured her garden with patience and vision, taught several of her grandchildren piano, and joyfully served as devoted driver and cheerleader for their many activities and events.

Dr. Drummond was the deeply cherished matriarch of her family—a beloved friend, pastor, teacher, and mentor. Her wisdom, compassion, commitment to service, lifelong learning, and unwavering faith have left an indelible legacy in every life she touched.

Reverend Dr. Bettye Faye Hall Drummond peacefully transitioned to her heavenly palace while surrounded with love, family and song at home.

She is survived  by her children: Alphonso Linn (Pleshette), Jay Alexander Sr. (Patricia), Tracy Ellen (Jonathan Branch), Helen Elizabeth (Steven Raymond); grandchildren: Leeland Antoine’-DePree Stephenson, Prisoria Tempest Stephenson (Jarrod Rector), Alphonso Levi Drummond, Ariel Divine Drummond, Jay Alexander Drummond II, Patrice Jaynè Drummond, Isaiah Jaymal Drummond, Erin Matisse Branch, Dextor Raymond (Laticia), Jascha Alexander, and Gabriella Sophia Raymond; and great grandchildren Princeton Rector, Jaxson Rector, Judah Rector, Jase Raymond, and Drew Raymond.

She also leaves her 102-year-old aunt, Verna Mae Hall Ware,her goddaughter Tykeysha Williams, sister-in-law Connie Drummond, and a host of extended family members—nieces, nephews, cousins, godchildren, mentees, and friends—who will cherish andcarry her memory forward with love and gratitude.

She was predeceased by her former husband Captain Alphonso Lee Drummond, her sister Clarrisa Thompson, brothers Everrett and Harold Sr. Hall, and 10 siblings by marriage.

Her life was a testament to resilience, purpose, and faith—and her legacy will continue to shine through the generations she nurtured, taught, and inspired.