Betty Ann Beachy's Obituary
Betty Ann Beachy was born on February 27, 1918 in Idaho Falls, Idaho and died at age 101 on April 1, 2019. Her parents were Gleyn Belle McHirron and John W. Beachy. She contracted the Spanish Flu as an infant and credits her survival for providing a natural resistance that enabled a long and healthy life.Betty several times throughout her childhood her father’s work required moves to places including Spokane, Washington, Toledo, Ohio, Ft. Worth, Texas and Dallas, Texas. Despite attending many different schools, Betty excelled in her studies and graduated first in her class in 1936 at W. C. Stripling High School in Ft. Worth. She received a scholarship to TCU but was unable to attend due to the subsequent move to Dallas. She attended North Texas Agricultural College for two years which was part of the A&M System at that time and was known as the “Junior Aggies”.Betty was hired by the U. S. Public Health Service and was working for the Assistant Surgeon General in Washington, D.C. at the start of WWII. She vividly remembered the events of December 7, 1941 when thousands of individuals went into uniform overnight and filled the streets of Washington. Her work with the Public Health Service subsequently took her to Austin and San Antonio, Texas and later to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Betty’s work related to mosquito-borne diseases and even in her advanced age she could quite accurately provide the scientific names and spelling for the various species related to her work back in the 1940s and 50s.Betty returned to Dallas after her father’s death in 1952 to assist her mother. She went to work with a visionary developer by the name of Trammell Crow as his 5th employee. She served as his personal assistant for many years and prepared contracts for numerous projects including the Trade Mart. She was charged with planning and organizing a luncheon at the Trade Mart for President John F. Kennedy in 1963. She was a witness to history as the word was delivered to the waiting attendees that the President had been assassinated in route to the luncheon.Betty later went to work for another Dallas developer Thomas Shutt. The Shutt family continued to support Betty for the rest of her life. Betty lived frugally and invested well enabling her to retire early and move to North Dallas. She volunteered for several years with the Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and generously contributed funds to that organization. She had very fond memories of the children that she assisted. She never married but loved her extended family. She also loved watching professional golf, the Dallas Cowboys and especially the Texas Rangers. In 2012, Betty moved to Isle at Watercrest in Bryan, Texas to be close to her nephew, Steve Beachy and his wife Mary Alice.Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers John Mack Beachy and his wife Nell; Charles Eugene Beachy and his wife Dorothy Jayne; her sister Rosemary Beachy Banta and her husband Thomas; and her nephews Paul Banta and Peter Banta. She is survived by nephews John Scott Beachy and wife Pat; Stephen C. Beachy and wife Mary Alice; and nieces Christine Beachy Murrey and husband Dudley; Sarah Ann Banta; Manon Gleyn Banta; Robin Beachy Richards and husband Mark; and numerous great nieces and nephews.The family extends special thanks to the wonderful staff at the Isle of Watercrest and to the incredible people at Hospice Brazos Valley including Marti Bledsoe and Sheila Dalton. Also, many thanks to special care-givers Josie Peacher and Sheila Hooks. Graveside services will be at the Restland Cemetery in Dallas on April 6th at 2:00pm. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Hospice Brazos Valley or the Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.
What’s your fondest memory of Betty?
What’s a lesson you learned from Betty?
Share a story where Betty's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Betty you’ll never forget.
How did Betty make you smile?