Dorothy "Babs" Tawney

“Babs” Tawney died peacefully in her sleep on Friday, April 17, 2020, of natural causes. Born Dorothy Green in 1923 in Great Yarmouth, England, she grew up in various towns in England, traveling with her family as her father took different jobs as an insurance agent before settling in Norwich on the east coast of England. She attended Norwich Training College, graduating in 1944, and was teaching young children in a public school in London during WWII when she met and married American Air Force serviceman, Fred Tawney. They moved to his hometown of Muskegon, MI, after the war, but soon moved around the country and around the world after Fred rejoined the Air Force. They lived in Indiana, Texas, Maryland, Alabama, and New Mexico, as well as Japan and Germany. Along the way, she raised six children, often single-handedly, while Fred was on assignment as a communications officer in the Air Force.

She never lost her love of teaching and learning, especially literature, reading to her children and grandchildren during their younger years, and continually pursuing her own reading list of literature that extended from Greek playwrights to Victorian novelists, especially Charles Dickens. During the family’s various travels, she continually made local and national culture available to her children via trips to museums, art galleries, and music concerts. In Japan, for example, she learned the Japanese art of flower arranging, and during her later years, she always had arranged flowers in her house. But she also kept alive her culture of origin by being a member of Daughters of the British Empire for many years. She also filled her house with artwork, attending the Weems Artfest in Albuquerque every year for over 30 years. One of her hobbies was crossword puzzles, which may have helped her remain mentally alert for many years. But her final years were proof that the secret to a long life is plenty of sleep and chocolate.

Her husband of 72 years passed away on Memorial Day of 2016, but she is survived by her 6 children, 11 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, and 8 great-great-grandchildren. They all will miss her love of the arts and especially her instinct as a teacher to inspire that love in them. Her greatest joy was opening up the world to children by teaching them to read.

Because of Covid-19, Funeral and Memorial Services are pending, and will be held when restrictions are lifted. In the interim, condolences can be expressed in the form of donations to the Practical Nursing Program, Fred & Babs Tawney Memorial Scholarship Fund, APS Career Enrichment Center, 807 Mountain Rd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102.