Betty J. Carroll 1929-2018
May 4, 2018 | Obituaries |
Betty J. Carroll, 88, formerly of Coffey, passed away Wednesday, May 2, 2018. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 10, at McWilliams Funeral Home in Gallatin. Visitation is Wednesday evening 5 to 7 p.m. where friends may call after 11 a.m. Burial is at the Coffey Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Crossroads Hospice or the Coffey Cemetery in care of the funeral home.
Betty June (Gardner) Carroll, the youngest of two children of Russell (Buck) and Flossie (Adcock) Gardner, was born in a small farmhouse west of Pattonsburg on June 15, 1929.
Betty attended the Coffey school all 12 years of her education. She enjoyed the school plays and sports. She loved volleyball, and by all accounts was fairly talented at it. By her words, she loved playing sports and the attention of the boys.
Following her graduation from Coffey High School in the spring of 1947 she remained at home helping her mom, gardening, canning, and watching her older sister’s children, Cathy and Tony. Jill was born about this time, too. She said she always felt close to these kids, perhaps because she had so much invested in their upbringing.
In The spring of 1948, J.W. proposed to her. She didn’t immediately say yes. Betty never rushed in
to a decision, whether it was selecting a pair of shoes or choosing her lifelong soul mate; she was going to thoroughly think it through. Realizing what a good man he was and how much she cared for him, she accepted his proposal and they were married on Dec. 1, 1948. To this union they were blessed with three children.
Betty was a homemaker and helped her husband in their business, the Home Produce store, which she said was named appropriately to provide an income for their home. She loved being a wife, mother, and homemaker.
Illness in her husband’s life forced her to find employment outside the home. She went to work at Places Store in Bethany. She worked at Places, which later became Pamida, for 35 more years, retiring in 2008. She loved being around people and visiting as they came through the store. She worked well beyond her need, but just loved seeing people and connecting. Many who came through the store, whether as a vendor or a patron, remember Betty as an icon at that store.
Betty accepted Jesus as her savior as a young girl, and in spite of her immense fear of water, joined him in the waters of baptism. She was a member of the Coffey Christian Church and later the Highway New Testament Christian Church. She loved music, even though she played no instrument. However, if there was a singing group involved she was going to be there.
Her childhood love of sports carried over into watching her grandkids. She would set at a football game and know absolutely nothing about the game, but if someone cheered she would too. Whether bundled up at a football game or listening to a high school band concert she made every effort to be there in support. She was her grandkids biggest fan in whatever they were involved in.
Preceding her in death were her father, Russell H. Gardner in July 1969, her mother, Flossie (Adcock) Gardner in March 1991, a sister, Maxine in May 1966, her husband, J.W. Carroll in April 1991, and a granddaughter, Crysania Wheeler in January 2007.
In passing, she leaves a daughter Marcella and son-in-law Richard Summers of Sedalia; two sons, Paul and his wife Della of Gallatin, and Phillip and his wife Angela of Lamar; 13 grandchildren, Shawn, Richelle, Daniel, Jennifer, Megan, Quentin, Jason, Tifny, Jolene, Lea Ann, Marquis, Joshua, and Abbey; 30 great-grandchildren; many nieces, nephews, and several others whom she loved.
Online condolences may be left at www.mcwilliamsfuneralhomes.com
