Betty Gunn Tompkins

Born on July 28, 1928, in Goose Creek, Texas (now a part of Baytown), Betty was the daughter of William Edgar Gunn and Evelyn Virginia Enderli Gunn. She was the oldest of four children. She had two younger brothers, Jack and Edward Gunn, and a younger sister Sherry.

As a child, Betty loved the great outdoors. She and her siblings would spend many hours exploring the rocks and trees of the neighborhood. Betty was famous for eating as many strawberries in her mom’s strawberry patch as she could get her hands on. She often attended Cedar Bayou Methodist Church with her grandmother, Mrs. Ida Enderli, one of the great leaders of the church at the time.

In 1946, Betty graduated from Lee High School here in Baytown, where she met her high school sweetheart, Wylie Edward Tompkins. On September 1, 1948, Betty married Wylie in the Alexander Chapel of Cedar Bayou Methodist Church, which became their church home for the rest of their lives.

Betty attended Lee College and the University of Texas in Austin. Betty’s son Reed Tompkins was born January 24, 1951. After caring for Reed for a while, she returned to school at Sam Houston State University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in textiles and home economics in 1953. Betty became a schoolteacher, teaching home economics in high school.

Betty’s daughter, Lisa Colleen Tompkins, was born on November 17, 1956.

While teaching, she returned to her love of the great outdoors by teaching earth science at La Porte Junior High School and later at Lomax Junior High School, where she happily remained for the rest of her career. While there, she earned her master’s degree in Geology from Texas A&M University in 1970.

Betty remained a great advocate for the great outdoors for the rest of her life. She became a master breeder of German Roller canaries, a position held by only about 10 people in the United States, and she won many awards in competition with other breeders. She raised Mallard ducks for release into the wild, and she raised and fed hundreds of Monarch butterflies as they journeyed across North America. She rescued baby owls who were separated from their parents in the trees of her neighborhood, and she adopted many homeless cats. She joined and faithfully supported many of the wildlife and nature preservation groups, including the Audobon Society, the Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Foundation. Yet she also found time for her love of textiles and home economics, through sewing, quilting, and teaching others how to sew. She especially loved making quilts that police officers could give to young children after a vehicle accident or a fire.

She was preceded in death by her parents William and Evelyn Gunn, her brothers Jack and Edward Gunn, her son Reed Tompkins, and her husband Wylie Tompkins. She is survived by her sister Sherry Arnold and her husband Don Arnold of Baytown, her daughter Lisa Colleen Scott and her husband Royce George Scott of Baytown, her grandson Nathan Christopher Scott of Baytown, her grandson Josh Tompkins of Houston, and her granddaughter Abigail Tompkins of Houston.

All who knew her will remember her for her personal strength and tenacity.

A graveside service will be held on March 7, 2026 at 11 a.m. in the Alexander Chapel at 2714 Ferry Rd Baytown, Texas 77520.