This is a picture of my cousin, Betty Rhea Fall. Her mother (my Aunt Altha) and my Grandmother Ramsey were sisters. Pictured here with Betty are two cousins, Tommy and Marilyn, on the left, and her son, Eddie, and my mom's sister Diane on the right. I'm guessing this was taken about 1956 or maybe 1957 (the year I was born!).
Betty had been in a nursing home for about 9 years, due to a debilitating stroke. She passed away on December 21, 2005, and her funeral was December 23. Greg was a pallbearer, and I was asked to sing... "In the Garden" and "Beyond the Sunset." Our pastor also asked me to say a few words about Betty, since he really didn't get a chance to know here before the stroke. Here is what I said...
There’s a little frilly baby cap that hangs on the wall in my piano room. I’m told it was the first gift I received – hours after I was born – brought to the hospital by Betty and Leo. You see, Betty Rhea and Leo Fall were part of my life even before I was born.
Ours is a very tightly-knit family, so every holiday or special occasion most certainly included the Falls. Only 10 years older than I, Eddie became a big-brother figure to me and my sister Suzanne, and we spent many fun-filled hours with him and his parents. I still remember the big snows winter brought in the 60’s, and watching out the window for their big white car or their truck to drive up. That signaled the onset of many hours of sledding! Eddie and my dad would take us down some of the most treacherous hills in the Heber Springs city limits, while Betty stood at the top and shouted, “Pull down your coat! Tighten that hood!" And most frequently, we’d hear just a big, “Oh my Lord!” Leo would meet us halfway down - or up – the hill, in his old truck, and drive us and half of Heber Springs back to the top to do it all again. This would go on for days… as long as the snow and ice held!
Betty always loved children, and it seemed we almost always had a little one around for her to dote on. When Suzanne and I were little, we had long hair that drove my mother nuts. So, Betty and her friend, Mickey Rector, would come to our house and give us those famous Toni Home Perms. They would roll us all up and get the solution on, then take us to the park to play, and probably to Whitaker’s for a cherry lime, while it set. Then they would bring us home and finish the perm. Later, they sat through endless piano recitals, Little Miss Cleburne County pageants, church performances – whatever we were in, they seemed to be there. After my sister, brother and I were older, a little red-haired cousin filled the gap. One Christmas, Betty and Leo covered their Christmas tree in individually wrapped candy canes – all for “Little Brent.” They couldn’t wait for him to come and fill himself silly with them – and I’m sure he did.
Then came Natalie and Franklin. I don’t know of any two children who were loved more by their grandparents than these two. Who else gave you ice cream and M&M’s for breakfast – because that was all you would eat. Who else taped “Days of our Lives” every day and watched it with you on the weekend?! Who else could you call in the afternoon and say, “Gran, the basketball bus leaves at 2:30, and Angie and I would like a chocolate pie, or a pizza (or whatever it was!)" Who else got a bright red Camaro for Christmas before their 16th birthday in April, or a really cool, nearly-new Chevy 4x4 pickup truck when most boys had to drive their parents’ vehicles. How many of you had grandparents so cool that your friends LOVED to hang out at their houses with you.
Did I mention that “Granny Betty” was a marvelous cook?! There probably wasn’t anything she couldn’t fix, but one of my favorites was her chocolate cream pie. Nothing could touch it…hers was definitely in a league of its own.
Until a debilitating stroke and the accompanying ills of aging started to sap her vitality, Betty was a bright, bright spark of joy and laughter in a world that often wasn’t so fun or funny. You see, she knew a secret… Betty Rhea didn’t dwell on unpleasantries. She lived in the moment. She knew what – and who – was important, and she made this her number one focus.
In the Bible, Paul tells us to learn to be content in whatever our circumstances, and for me, Betty took that to a whole new level. She took things in stride, and to the rest of us, her world was filled with joy, friends, bridge games, fishing, the Razorbacks – whom she referred to as her “boys,” cherry limes at Whitaker’s and many friends at her bank window, good food - and yes, a good smoke… and above all, her family. I know, too, that she was, and is, a child of God, and until they were physically unable to attend, you would find her and her mother, my beloved Aunt Altha, sitting in church most every Sunday at First Baptist.
Betty had such a big heart, and one of her favorite sayings, was “Well, God love him or her.” I know that hearing the name Betty Rhea makes me smile, and I am pretty sure it makes you smile, too. She would be so proud you came today to celebrate her life. So, “God love you” for coming, and God love Betty Rhea.
