Mary Beth Horton

Mary Beth Belew Horton passed into the presence of The Savior on July 15, 2024. Mary Beth lived a life full of service. She dedicated her life in her main calling as a teacher at Westminster Christian School (WCS) in Palmetto Bay, Florida for over 30 years. She taught English and Bible at the seventh-grade level. She was also well known in the old days when she taught “Grooming and Charm” to her precious Junior High girls. After retirement, she went on to serve on the board of WCS for years and always made herself available to the mission of Christian education. Mary Beth was also intently caring about family including the history of it in being an upstanding member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She was most proud of her family’s relative Colonel John Donelson (a founder of Nashville) and his daughter Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson, the wife of President Andrew Jackson. Mary Beth also had an incredible flair for music. She studied organ with Dr. Nita Akin, world-renowned performance artist and legendary Organ Chair at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls Texas. She furthered her studies at the Baylor School of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Markham. She graduated from Baylor University a year early in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and made that her lifelong passion to educate Junior High children. Her love for them was unending, watching them grow from students to successful family and business leaders for multiple generations. She was recognized by the Marion Park Deaver and Harry Gilbert Deaver Foundation Excellence in Teaching (2001) at Westminster and this award was presented to her by Chris Everett Lloyd. Mary Beth (who possessed the best sense of humor) could throw the finest dinner party, write the best thank you note, diagram a sentence when needed, suggest the appropriate Widor/Bach composition to be played for a Pre/Postlude, or come up with the best recipes for any occasion. She was best known for the right hug at the right time for all who needed it while shining the Light of Christ. She loved her Miami and Texas families. 

Mary Beth is survived by her loving husband of 67 years Charles R. Horton, their son CAPT Jeffrey C. Horton, SC, USN (Ret), and Sister-in-Law Mary Leona Horton. She was preceded in death by her daughter in law, Felicia Manley Horton, her parents Marcus Taylor (Sr) and Alice Belew, brothers William Theodore (Bernice), Robert Houston (Mary), Harris (Inez), Marcus Taylor Jr (Helen) and her beloved sister Jane (Bob). She was also preceded by her brother-in-law Dewey Horton. There are many nieces and nephews who will miss their beloved Aunt “Beffie.” A memorial service is planned for late fall at The Old Cutler Presbyterian Church in Miami, Florida. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mary Beth’s memory to Westminster Christian School via the attached web address: 

https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E347195&id=52