Bette Jo Hamby

When people talk about Bette Jo, there are so many terms used to describe her: caring, giving, loving, a family person, hard-working, friendly, resilient - the family’s “Steel Magnolia”. But, most importantly, she was the best “Prayer Warrior” for all.

Bette Jo’s parents, John Rex and Ora Ethel Jones Tarwater, were natives of Western Kentucky who moved to West Tennessee with the Illinois Central Railroad. They had two children, Charles and Bette Jo. Bette Jo attended Ripley, Tn. High School where she was a popular student, a cheerleader and made many life-long friends.

She married the love of her life, James Calvin “Jack” Hamby at the age of 16, and immediately moved to Memphis since Jack had been hired by the Memphis Police Department. There they raised their three children, Cheryl, Beth and Jim, in the Kingsbury area. Bette Jo and Jack raised his niece also, Vickie, from the age of 8 until she married. Of course Bette Jo became very involved in the school, first as a room mother then on to be President of the Kingsbury PTA.

Bette Jo adored her family that included, in addition to her children, five grandchildren, Chris, Cissy, Nick, Todd and Brittany. She was blessed with four great grandchildren, Caleb, Mason, Cayden and Calli, who all called her “Nonnie” as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins. She and Jack also were a great influence on her cousin Bill, who she called “Bub”.

After the children were grown, she started working first in collections for Giant Foods, but then the idea of “Real Estate” clicked in her mind. Both she and Jack took classes together and passed the State Board Exam, but it was Bette Jo that made a career of over 44 years as a licensed agent and also a licensed broker. She was recognized by the Memphis Area Association of Realtors for years or service. At the time of her death, she still worked two days a month on the Professional Standards Board at MAAR.

Bette Jo was also active with ACRE, the Association of Retired City Employees attending the monthly meeting regularly. She greeted every member when they arrived at the meeting and always, without hesitation, made certain they were up to date on their dues. Lol

Bette Jo grew up in the Baptist Church, but through the years she attended several other denominations including Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Non-denomination and Catholic. She and her family were members of the Church of the Good Shepherd, where she was a member on the Vestry. She attended Bible Study classes for almost fifty years, and faithfully watched different ministry on TV, and more recently attended Hope Presbyterian and Central Church. She prayed for a lot of people that had no idea she was asking for intervention of God’s will. Bette Jo unselfishly gave both financially toward many charities and much of herself to others.

Bette Jo often stated that her faith in God and community of friends in Bible Study and real estate helped carry her through the hard times. She lost Jim first, when he had just turned 30 years old. Then she lost her husband Jack, when he became ill and passed away 3 weeks prior to their 50th wedding anniversary. Bette Jo’s mother, who lived with her, died 2 years later. Then, one Sunday morning she was preparing to have the family over for a swim and cookout. She went to the store to buy milk to make home made ice cream. She returned home only to find her first born, Cheri, laying across the bed after having a fatal heart attack. Bette Jo had a very special friend, who she adored and respected, the last nine years of her life, Francis Bradley. They spent a lot of time together and leaned on each other, helping each of them thru the heartache of not only losing their spouses, but both losing two children as well. Bette Jo lost Francis on Feb 15th, unexpectedly. She missed him until the day she died.

Bette Jo always called Beth her miracle child, for, she had almost lost her on 3 separate occasions - two horrific car crashes and a close call with cancer. It was God’s plan though, for Beth to take care of her mother and be there for her until the very end.