Betty Carol Carlan's Obituary
Betty Carol Carlan
Betty was the first born to Clarence and Frankie Eades in Monroe County in northeastern Mississippi on April 21, 1940. Growing up she lived in and around the small town of Becker, near Aberdeen and Amory. To make extra money, she, along with her brother Jerry, and their mom, would pick cotton for five cents per bag. Betty always saved her nickels and on Saturday she would get a ride into Amory and go to the movies. Her brother Jerry would tag along most times, and she would pay his way too.
After Clarence returned from the war he spent time in Dallas, starting a house painting business. On Fridays he would drive 600 miles home to spend time with his family and then return to Dallas on Sunday afternoon. In 1952 he moved their growing family to Dallas where they settled into some old army barracks that had been converted into living spaces near Love Field off of Bombay Street. She transferred and began attending North Dallas High School where she graduated in 1958. Betty was an excellent student and very popular with her teachers and friends.
Still loving old movies Betty got a job at a movie theater near their home and this is where she met the man she would marry, Eddie Carlan. They married in September 1958 and in October 1962 Betty gave birth to their only child, Brian. Shortly after she started working at Wausau Insurance and she would stay there until her retirement in January 1995. She wore many hats and moved around to different departments, finally spending the last few years of her career as the head of data processing.
Betty was a lifelong music lover: Elvis, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdink, George Strait, the classic country artists, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Conway Twitty, Waylon, Willie, Don Williams, Charlie Rich, you name it, she loved it. She also loved the old 50's and 60's rock and roll groups, blues music and gospel music. Betty was no stranger to concerts either. She stood on her chair every time Elvis hit the stage and screamed just like all the other fans.
During the 1980's Betty caught the cb bug and took the handle, HoneyLamb. She had a good group of cb buddies, and they would frequently meet up before work for coffee and sometimes breakfast. It was during the same time frame that she discovered Belle Starr off Central Expressway. Betty loved learning the country dances and could be found there three to four nights a week. She made many good friends at Belle Starr and at WW Fairfield in Richardson.
After retirement Betty settled into her daily home routines, working in the yard, shopping for flowers every spring at Home Depot and Lowes (she loved Gerber daisies), feeding the birds and squirrels in the backyard, and making her weekly trek to Wai Mart for groceries (always entering through the garden department). She was also a big fan of QVC and amassed a beautiful collection of Jim Shore figurines and various rooster and chicken knick knacks which she proudly displayed in her kitchen and living room. Betty loved Christmas and she also had a large collection of snowmen and Santa figurines.
She loved TV too and was always a fan of the old westerns, Gunsmoke, Bonanza and the Rifleman. Old sci fi movies were favorites as well: The Day the Earth Stood Still, War of the Worlds, Them, etc.
She loved talking to people she met in the aisles of whatever store she happened to be shopping at. Betty could strike up a conversation with anyone about anything. Most conversations eventually turned to talks about family pets. She loved and cared for many cats and dogs over her long lifetime. Always feeding a stray kitty that usually ended up becoming a cherished member of the household. Betty loved dogs, but cats always held a special place in her heart.
Betty's greatest love in life was her son, Brian. She was so proud of him and the many accomplishments he has made in his career. She absolutely beamed talking about him.
Brian has been a wonderful son for her, always there to help her and lift her up, literally and figuratively. A dutiful son who was by her side every second of this long fight. Betty loved her boy.
Betty often talked about the afterlife and if there was "something" out there. She was fascinated with people who had the gift of being able to communicate with those who have gone before us. Many times, she said she knew they would be waiting for her and it would be like a big reunion. Mom, Daddy, brothers Jerry and Phillip, sister Linda and others (including pets) who had crossed over. We know they were sitting around her bed, waiting for her with open arms as she left this earthly plane late in the evening of April 12, 2026. Just a few days shy of her 86th birthday. While we knew this was coming, we surely didn't want to let her go but we knew she was tired of the hard fight she had waged. Our Betty will be greatly missed.
A lifelong animal lover and advocate, Betty supported many animal rights groups, but her favorite has always been Best Friends Animal Society. In lieu of flowers in her memory, a donation to Best Friends in her memory would be wonderful and something she would have wanted.
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