Betty Nell Hughes, the Prosper native whose name graces Jim and Betty Hughes Elementary, died Sept. 23 at age 88.

Prosper ISD announced her passing in its Sept. 29 newsletter, calling Hughes a steadfast supporter of students, staff and schools who was a familiar and welcome face at district events. The district said it would proudly carry on her legacy.

Hughes was born Sept. 11, 1938, in McKinney to Bert and Faye Hodges, according to her obituary in The Dallas Morning News. She grew up in the Walnut Grove community on the family farm, located on a gravel road now known as Custer Road. She attended school in Prosper when the town had 250 people and graduated from Prosper High School in 1956, where she played varsity basketball and was a majorette.

In a 2021 article about the school that bears her name, Hughes recalled what small-town Prosper was like: "We had such small classes. We grew up with the same people. We knew everybody in our classes. We knew the whole school in fact."

After high school, Hughes attended North Texas State College, now the University of North Texas, where she earned bachelor's and master's degrees.

She began teaching in Odessa, later taught in Irving and was hired at McKinney ISD in 1965 to teach second grade at Fanny Finch Elementary. She won Teacher of the Year at that school during a 12-year stretch there before becoming the district's elementary curriculum coordinator. She retired in 1989 after roughly 30 years in education.

Hughes married James A. "Jim" Hughes on Dec. 30, 1982, at the First United Methodist Church in McKinney. The couple moved back to Prosper in 1995, joined Prosper United Methodist Church and threw themselves into community life, attending high school sporting events and volunteering.

Both were charter members of the Prosper Historical Society and received a Certificate of Leadership in Preservation from the Collin County Historical Society. Betty was also a member of the Prosper Garden Club and the Prosper Book Club.

The Prosper ISD Board of Trustees honored the couple by naming an elementary school after them. When the board proposed using their formal names, Hughes asked for something simpler. "We don't put on airs," she told the Prosper-Celina Journal in 2021, explaining why she preferred "Jim and Betty Hughes Elementary" over "James Albert and Elizabeth Hodges Hughes Elementary."

Hughes loved her namesake school. She attended as many events there as she could and was known for baking brownies and delivering them to the staff, according to her obituary.

She is survived by her son, Marty Matthews and Claudia Bernal; her daughter, Lequita Kinder and husband Mark; grandchildren Natalie Pierce, Wesley Kinder and Kevin Kinder; and several sisters-in-law.

A graveside service is set for 9:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Prosper. A memorial service follows at 11 a.m. at Prosper United Methodist Church, 1801 Lanier Way. Lunch will be served afterward at the Prosper Community Room at Prosper ISD Children's Health Stadium, 2000 Stadium Drive.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Betty Hughes Scholarship through Prosper Methodist Church or to the Prosper Historical Society.