Betty Jo Hall Lazerus

May 31, 1929 – May 6, 2011

Funeral Services for Betty Lazerus, 81, of Huntsville, will be 10:00 AM, Monday, May 9, 2011 at the Huntsville Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Reagan Cooksey officiating. Interment will follow at Brooke Cemetery. Betty was born in Bloomberg, TX to George and Myrtle Hall. She was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, Vernon Lazerus and her sister Dorothy Louise Dunn. Survivors include her three sons, Larry Lazerus, Jerry Lazerus & his wife Barbara, and Gary Lazerus; her sister Janice Stokes; four grandchildren, Jennifer Lazerus, Nathan Lazerus, Nicholas Lazerus and Curtis Sweeney. Betty was well known for her volunteering at the Huntsville Prison Museum, Sam Houston Museum and Huntsville Hospice. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to your local SPCA. Betty loved animals.

Betty Jo Lazerus, Age 81, Born May 31, 1929 (25 days short of 82)

Born May 31, at home in Bloomberg Texas. A doctor from Bright Star, Arkansas came to Bloomberg to assist Myrtle and George Hall with the birth of their first child, Betty. Betty’s early life was not easy. It was the depression, and Betty stopped school at the 3rd grade to help support the family. Betty’s grandpa Hall would take Betty, her mom Myrtle, and Myrtle’s sister Susie to Jefferson Texas in his car from Bloomberg to work in a straw basket factory. Myrtle and Susie wove the baskets and Betty’s job was to stack the baskets. They earned a penny for each basket. Betty continued to work, to help support her family during the depression era and never had the opportunity to return to school.

Betty, her mother Myrtle, and toddler sister Dorothy moved from Atlanta, Texas in her early teens to Galveston, Texas. The family needed work and here is where jobs could be found. Her first job in Galveston was in an Ice Cream Parlor. The rest of her life she never lost her love for Ice Cream. Betty’s favorite was Blue Bell Vanilla. During her life she visited the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory in Brennan Texas many times.

As Betty grew older she helped in raising her little sister Dorothy and continued working to help her family. One of her jobs in her late teens was that of a barmaid. During this time she met and married Vernon Bass Lazerus a young, handsome Merchant Marine just home from WWII. Betty gave birth to two healthy sons, Larry and Jerry while living in Galveston. Wanting a third child, Betty and Vernon and the two boys relocated to Pasadena, Texas. Here Betty had a third son, Gary Dale. Vernon, a merchant marine was gone from the house for extended periods and Betty raised the boys with a stern but loving hand. All of Betty’s life she continued to work to assist in supporting her family. She started as a cashier in a department store and in a very short time was made head cashier. A woman with a third grade education was placed in charge of all the other cashiers; she had personality and a great work ethic.

Another job she had was in security of a department store. She caught shoplifters. Betty was equally good at this occupation and before long was the head of the department. Betty and two other women helped protect Foley’s department store from thieves. She was given a commendation from the Houston Police department for her work. All the time that she worked, she raised her three boys. Betty was a striking presence. Just less than six feet tall she had flaming red hair that she wore stacked, and always presented herself smartly dressed and ready to work.

Betty, not wanting to loose touch with her roots would, every summer return to Atlanta, Texas area. Susie, the aunt she worked with as a child, and Newton Whitehorn the parent’s of Larry Joe Whitehorn lived there. She was older than Larry Joe but loved him as a brother. Betty often commented that Larry Joe Whitehorn was the only person she knew that liked ice cream more than her. Larry Joe and his wife Betty Whitehorn were life long friends and they were present at the time she went to the Lord.

During the time Betty and Vernon were raising their family in Pasadena, a tragedy occurred; her mother’s house burned to the ground. Without missing a step, Betty invited Myrtle and Betty’s younger sister Janice Turner, into her home. Betty and Vernon remodeled their house to make her mother and sister comfortable. Myrtle and Janice continued to live with Betty for many years.

When the three boys were grown and left the house she finally was able to stay at home. However her husband Vernon, who now worked for Texaco Marine Division was transferred to New York. Betty often commented on how cold it was there, even during the summer. Betty had one grandchild by then, Jennifer, and being the grandmother she was, would often have a young Jennifer fly to New York so they could spend time together. They have remained close.

After Vernon’s retirement they relocated to Riverside, Texas. Here the two of them started their golden years. No, not sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch, but traveling the world and eventually buying an RV to travel the country.

Betty was always willing to take care of her grandchildren. Her second grandchild, Nathan, a boy who was full of spirit loved his grandma. Betty never missed the chance to remind Nathan that she was the boss. So the term “Grandma the Boss” was coined. Her third grandson Curtis Sweeney came into her life by marriage of her second son Jerry to Barbara Sweeney. She never missed a step and embraced him as part of the family. Her fourth grandson was Nicolas Lazerus. Due to a family conflict she never really got to know young Nick. This was a life long hurt to Betty. Nonetheless it did not slow her down. She did reunite with Nick, the Christmas of her 80th year.

Betty and Vernon continued their RV adventures Her favorite words were, “I can’t sit down. I’m a going Jessie”.

Betty and Vernon were together until the time of his death in November of 2001. She was heartbroken and devastated. Her husband of 49 years, just 5 days short of a 50th wedding anniversary was gone. She was lost for the first time in her life. However never to sit for long she started keeping herself busy volunteering at local museums and parks in the Huntsville area. Betty and her new lady friend, Ms. Betty Odell and others even started a resale shop for Hospice. She just could not sit down.

Betty discovered she had a “Green Thumb”. She could literally throw seeds on the grown and they would grow. Her interest in flowers and trees grew daily and at the time of her death, knew the names of many of the local trees and flowers. Not bad for a woman with a third grade education.

Betty remained in Riverside after Vernon’s death. Her oldest son Larry moved in with her and her youngest son Gary built a small house close by. Betty and Larry developed a relationship akin to an old married couple, each being head strong, but still full of love. Gary was injured in a motor vehicle accident in 2008. She worried for him out of a mother’s love for her son. They were close as well.

Betty’s traveling days were not over. Grass never grew under her feet for very long. Her middle son Jerry and his wife Barbara, who was Betty’s best friend, often took trips together; both overseas and in the States. Betty developed a friendship with Barbara’s mother Rose Ella McGarvey. They became great traveling buddies. Betty and Rose Ella McGarvey often commented, “Of course we are good friends. We have great kids in common.” Rose Ella McGarvey remains Betty’s friend to this day.

Betty contracted pneumonia in January 2011. She fought hard, but never could over come the disease. The last month of her life she moved to Arkansas to live with her son Jerry and her best friend Barbara, Jerry’s wife. She succumbed after what seemed like a very short battle, but was really 5 months, to pneumonia, on May 6, 2011 at 9:15am. She closed her eyes and moved on to the Lord, never suffering and still fighting. Betty was truly, “ A going Jessie” in her life.

Gone but never forgotten.