Betty Jo Weidner

Known as the family historian, her family tree is well documented by her own diligent researching, recording, copying, and calling. Betty Jo is preceded in death by her father, Walter Lee Smith; mother, Ruby Clyde Smith; brothers, Marvin Sylvester Smith and Calvin Cecil Smith; sister, Dorothy Jean Smith; ex-husband and father to her five children, Clarence Julius Weidner; as well as her son-in-law and fellow squirrel whisperer Craig Ronald Holmes.

She is survived by her “Little Bro” Paul Lindsey Smith and her five children, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren: her daughter, Cynthia Lynn Holmes (the drill sergeant) and her children Taylor and Christopher; Catherine Lee Holmes (the angel) and her husband Danny and daughter Bonnie; Clayton Jay Weidner (her baby boy) and his wife Julie and twin daughters Amanda (Alec) Mimms and Ashley (children: Caden, Conan and Chloe); Christina Louise Erwin (her ding-a-ling) and her husband, Patrick and their sons Chad and Dallas Erwin; and Julie Mayberry (her princess) and husband Andy and their four daughters Ellie, Katie, Zoe and Courtney.

Often mistaken as Shirley Temple as a child with her blonde curly hair, always wearing clothes stitched by her momma, she grew up in a little small town in the 1930s and 40s called Ft. Lauderdale. She was the first in her family to graduate high school. She really wanted to go to college and be a psychologist, but girls were instead encouraged to take short-hand and typing. She dreamed with friends of moving to Washington, D.C. and becoming a secretary at the White House. Her first job was as a bookkeeper at a bank, and she spent many years working in that industry. Later jobs would include selling real estate, working as a legal secretary at the Broward Sheriff’s Office and an administrative assistant for the Area Agency on Aging of Broward County where she received the Aging Advocate Award in 2014.

However, she would tell you that her greatest achievements were raising her five children, especially as a single mother, and caring for her mother who had Alzheimer’s Disease. Besides full-time work, she always had a side job or two to make ends meet from selling Avon to plants. She valued hard work and had high expectations, always encouraging others to keep trying.

In the last few years, her health deteriorated as dementia slowly took over but she had a telephone ministry that kept her plugged into her friends and family. She was the glue that kept loved ones together. She was an avid newspaper reader and often cut out articles and mailed them to loved ones.

She would tell you that families are like quilts: lives pieced together, stitched with smiles and tears, colored with memories and bound by love.

A celebration of life for Betty Jo will be held Sat., Jan. 14, 2023 from noon to 1 p.m. at Kraeer Funeral Home, 200 West Copans Rd., Pompano Beach, Fla. 33064. Following the celebration of life will be a graveside service from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens, 200 West Copans Rd., Pompano Beach, Fla. 33064

Pallbearers include Paul Smith, Clayton Weidner, Danny Holmes, Andy Mayberry, Chad Erwin, Dallas Erwin, Christopher Holmes, and Michael Manuel.