2015 Arizona Mother of the Year - Bette Doxey

Bette Doxey was born in Arizona to Robert and Lora Magnusson. Extremely talented, Bette, wrote many musicals and plays while attending Mesa High School and Brigham Young University. She

earned a degree in Early Childhood and Family Relationships and created her own Academic

Learning Center. She married Ronald Doxey, who specializes in pediatric Dentistry. They have

five children, twelve grandchildren and reside in Phoenix, Arizona. 

While living in Hawaii, Bette wrote a Ten-Act Religious Musical Pageant that brought together

27 nationalities and their worship of God. This pageant was showcased for many years under her

personal direction in Hawaii, Chicago, Mexico City, and many times in Curitiba, Brazil, as well

as Phoenix, Arizona. This resulted in creating within Bette a strong connection with students and

friends who contributed to the success of the pageant. It has touched and blessed the lives of

many thousands of men, women, and children.

Bette learned the importance of mothering while teaching first grade. At Saint Bernadette’s

in Omaha, Nebraska, she taught 44 students every year for four years, while her husband was in

Dental school. She quickly became aware that she couldn’t help them progress into the 2^nd grade

unless they learned to read. She championed a plan, organized a curriculum and called every

home asking for the parents’ assistance. They were to spend at least 10 minutes each day at

home with their child following the information given them. It worked! A certificate was given

for each 10 books read. If they read 100 books, they would receive a homemade cake. The first

year, 36 students had read over a 100 books. With help at home, Bette baked over 145 cakes! It

was so successful the Omaha News printed a detailed article entitled: One cake for 100 books—

with a photo of a smiling student receiving a cake from Bette Doxey. The BIG news was that

every student was an outstanding reader. Why? Because each student had daily individual help

at home.

Bette’s top priorities are her marriage, her children and her community outreach, which

includes her Musical Pageant. Bette judged collections at the Arizona State Fair for 15 years.

Her Academic Learning Center taught gifted children and those with marginal disabilities to

prepare for Kindergarten. She taught The Old and New Testaments to teenagers five days a

week: she taught Catholics, at Brophy and Xavier and Mormons at the LDS Seminary. She

also organized and conducted a 100-voice Children’s Choir that performed in many of the

sophisticated concert halls in Phoenix, and another group, consisting of former students from

Hawaii, ages 3 to grandparents, representing a variety of nationalities, that would perform every

Christmas Eve at the Mesa Christmas Lights display for 15 years. 

The Doxey’s goals for their children were to teach them to love God, America, and each other.

They prayed together, attended church, read scriptures daily and worked on scouting and

personal progress. They took trips to Washington DC and places that identified America’s

beauty and freedom. They taught them the Declaration of Independence and the United States

Constitution. They taught their children to love each other and to serve one another by cooking,

cleaning, protecting, and singing together. Togetherness included extensive trips to Disneyland,

two months in Hawaii, BYU summer camps, and many school, sports, and church activities.

Now, their married children provide the same wonderful experiences for their families. Bette

Doxey says, “It was an honor to raise these children—and the hardest job she’s ever done! “