Gena "Betsy" Mayse's Obituary
Betsy Mayse
May 21, 1952- January 6, 2024
Gena Beth Mason was born on May 21st, 1952, to Don and Wanda Mason in Amarillo, Texas. She was the first born of five siblings, Marilyn, Donny, Louann and Joy. When she was very young, she had trouble saying Beth, it came out Bessy and her mother didn’t want her nickname to be that of a cow so she called her Betsy and it took, which has been a real problem on legal documents like passports and drivers licenses because she has never used Gena or Beth.
Betsy attended Tascosa High School and was a proud Tascosa Rebel. She graduated in 1970 and was accepted at Texas Tech University as a Business Major. It was at Tech that she met her future husband, a scruffy, long-haired Architecture student named Mike Mayse. Actually, she didn’t meet him in Lubbock, she met him in Odessa which is where he is from. She had two friends at Tech, Debbie Cannon and Ruth Elfert who were from Odessa, and they invited her to go to Odessa with them one weekend. Mike, who knew Debbie and Ruth from high school, was also in Odessa that weekend to have some wisdom teeth extracted. They all wound up at a party Saturday night where Mike, high on pain medications from his dental work, asked her to marry him that very night. But Betsy, being a good Baptist girl, gently declined.
Betsy and Mike dated through college, and she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1974. On January 3rd, 1975, she and Mike got married in Amarillo, Texas. She worked various jobs in bookkeeping and accounting in Lubbock while Mike finished his Architecture degree. In 1978 they relocated to Duncanville, Texas and then to Cedar Hill, Texas where in 1979 Gena Elizabeth was born. In 1981 they moved to Carrollton, Texas where in 1983 Eric Elling was born and in 1987, Evan Michael was born. While raising three small children, Betsy continued working part time keeping books and payroll for Marvin Crossnoe and Squire Construction. She was a founding partner at Mayse & Associates, Inc. when they incorporated in 1983 and eventually managed all of the payroll, insurance and HR at Mayse & Associates until she and Mike retired in 2022.
Betsy loved God’s word and was always involved in women’s bible studies. She was an original member of the Bible Discussion Group and led the Women’s Bible Study at Community Bible Chapel for almost 20 years. She was always generous and faithful in her support for Christian Ministries and Missionaries such as Young Life, Pioneers, Christian Workers Fellowship, Renewal Ministries and Forefront Experiences.
Betsy also loved people; she was a people person. Everyone that knew her said that within five minutes of meeting someone she would know their life story. She was truly interested in people and what they did and where they were from. Even when she was in the hospital when the doctors and nurses would come in she would ask their names, how long have you been a nurse or doctor, where do you live, are you married, how many children do you have, do you know Jesus, where do you go to church. And weeks later, or even years later, she would see those same doctors and nurses and say, “there’s so and so, he’s been married so many years and has so many children”. She had an amazing memory for people and never forgot a face.
Betsy also loved to laugh. She was very blunt and direct, but not in a rude or condescending way, she would just ask some of the most personal questions or make the most outrageous statements which would take people by surprise and get everyone just howling laughing. It was just how she was, and it was one of her most endearing qualities and everyone loved her for it.
She will be sorely missed by friends, family and everyone who knew her. But she is where she always wanted to be, in the loving arms of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What’s your fondest memory of Gena?
What’s a lesson you learned from Gena?
Share a story where Gena's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Gena you’ll never forget.
How did Gena make you smile?