Betty is also preceded in death by her parents, William H.and Eva Pearl (Jordan) Wooten; and her six siblings: Paul Wooten, Howard Wooten, Ray Wooten, Nina Williamson, Georgia Haley, and Evelyn Ryan.
Betty is survived by her daughter, Deanna Mattos (Diaz) and her son Richard Diaz (Bernadette). Also survived by 11 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and 13+ great-great-grandchildren.
Betty's family migrated from Arkansas to California's San Joaquin Valley when she was 16 years old. When Betty was 18 she moved to San Jose, California, to live with her sister Evelyn Ryan and her family. It was then that she changed her name from Wilamae (Willie Mae) to Betty Jo Wooten.
On January 25, 1941 Betty married Paul Robert Benzon Diaz. They had three children and moved their family to Hanford, Hardwick, San Francisco, San Jose, San Bruno, Lakeside, and Homeland. They finally settled in Lemoore, CA in 1982, then in Hanford, CA in 2000.
Paul and Betty shared 70 years, 8 months and 7 days together. They were rarely apart for more than a few days. Their first love was eachother. Their secons love was their large family, travelling many times to family celebrations and, sometimes, just to hang out with all those kids! Their third love was country music. They met in San Jose, CA when Paul was on stage and Betty was in the audience. Paul loved singing his favorite songs and would do so any time, any where. Out would come his Martin guitar and he would sing and yodel for hours. They loved dancing, and could out-last anyone on the dance floor. Their fourth love was bowling, both having enviable averages right up into their later years. Betty was the oldest bowler in her league (90+) and was very proud of that distinction.
Betty's family welcomes everyone to a Celebration of Betty's Life at Glad Tidings Assembly of God Church, 750 Grangeville Blvd., Hanford, CA on Saturday, October 19, 2019, at 11:00 am.
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