Betty McNeil Jeffery

She was preceded in death by her husband, William J. Jeffery; parents, Annie Fite McNeil & Bert McNeil, Sr.; and brothers, W.V. McNeil, Bert McNeil, Jr., Tom F. McNeil, and Norman L. McNeil. Betty is survived by her nieces, Linda McNeil Fultz and Janice McNeil Carter; great-niece Ginger Johnson, great-nephews Brian Carter and Stephen Carter; nine great-great-nieces and nephews; and numerous family and friends.

The family would like to give special thanks to Guadalupe Castillo and Margaret Hernandez for their dedicated support and care to Betty.

An amusing story from niece Jan: almost all of our relatives have used Porter Loring Mortuary, this location, when a family member would pass away. And the freeway just outside was the same one that Jones and I would drive on to get to her veterinarian. Upon returning home, we would pass Porter Loring, seeing it down to the right. As I was driving, she was the one closest to Porter Loring. I do believe that every single time we passed it (and we did that a lot because she had a lot of dogs), she would wag her right index finger, pointing to Porter Loring and mutter slowly and emphatically ‘‘NOT.YET.’’ And I would chuckle.

She was known by many names: Betty, of course, but also several others: her brother called her ‘Willy,’ her husband called her ‘Bess,’ and all the three generations of nieces and nephews called her ‘Jones.’ Not ‘Joan,’ as in a female name, but ‘Jones.’ Although there is no information on the ‘Willy’ name, there is a fun story about ‘Jones:’ When niece Linda was very young, she and Betty would play ‘telephone,’ and Linda would say ‘Hello, Miss Jones? This is Miss McNeil…’ and the imaginative conversation would go on from there. The ‘Miss’ eventually got dropped, and ‘Jones’ it was from then on.

Betty attended Baskin Elementary School and Horace Mann Jr. High.

She was a 1945 graduate of Jefferson High school, where she was a member of the Lassos, the Girls’ Cadet Corps, and Skeltons.

She was a member of Woodlawn United Methodist Church.

Attending Trinity University, San Antonio, for her first year of college, she then transferred to the University of Texas at Austin for the remainder of her education, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Biology, specializing in fungi and fungus-related cultures.

After graduating, she returned to San Antonio and worked briefly at the San Antonio Health Dept.Her next position would be at Randolph Air Force Base, where she was part of a team that worked on the effects of fungi in outer space, notably under the brief oversight/tutelage of renowned scientist Werner Von Braun . A number of her fungus cultures were sent into space on some of America’s earliest satellites.

She began working at Brooke Army Medical Center Hospital (“BAMC”) in the microbiology dept, and she eventually became the lead microbiologist at the hospital. Upon her retirement, she received a Presidential Award from President Ronald Reagan in recognition of her outstanding service and work.

She was a member of the Republican Party of Texas.

She loved to fish, and she loved to hunt doves in the autumn. She was always up for a trip to Rockport, Tx, for a few days of fishing and shopping the local stores.

Betty met Bill Jeffery at the BAMC hospital; he was a courier for medical testing equipment. They married in 1966. Bill passed away in 2014.

They were avid symphony attenders, as well as regularly enjoying dramatic productions in San Antonio.

She made every holiday season special; they were both very creative in decorating and preparing holiday festivities. Thanksgivings and Christmases at their house were magical and lovely.

They also were active for several years in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), working at sports car rallies in many areas around Texas and Louisiana.

She loved her plants and worked tirelessly to make her lawns lovely, despite Texas heat and drought. Many times she would return home from work, immediately put on ‘yard clothes,’ and hand water her many plants. Undoubtedly this was a great ‘decompressing time’ for her from her very intensive job.

In the 1970s she, along with husband Bill, began a decades-long investment in breeding and showing standard smooth dachshunds. They initially were themselves showing their dogs in the show rings, but time and medical restraints eventually caused them to look for competent, experienced, compassionate handlers. Their labors did not go unrewarded; many of their dogs went on to become champions and were well-known in the dog show community. Several times and for several years her dogs or their descendants ranked highly at New York’s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. And to this day that legacy continues; one of her descendants has been rated #1 dachshund in the nation this year, and several others are nationally rated very highly this year also. Their professional kennel name was ‘Bessdachs’ – a combination of her nickname and their beloved breed. It is still used by breeders today who have continued the quality of breeding and the legacy of the Bessdachs bloodline.

Betty and Bill were members of the Mission City Dachshund Club, as well as Responsible Pet Owners Alliance.

She had a very bright mind, incredible spunk, an insane amount of stubbornness, and a lot of what we used to call ‘horse sense,’ which she desperately tried to instill in her nieces and nephews.

One last story from Jan: ‘‘When I was a senior in high school, Jones marched me into Frost Brothers, one of the very nicest clothing stores in San Antonio at that time. She pulled out every single dress in my size and marched me into a dressing room; she had me try on every dress, whether I liked it or not. And she did a critique of each one, telling me things such as ‘Sure, that’s cute, but it’s very trendy and you wouldn’t be caught dead in it this time next year. And look at the price tag!’ Or ‘This isn’t right for your body type, because …..’ and she would explain. Or ‘Now, THIS one is great – you could wear it to a symphony (I was a music major) or to Sunday morning church, or a nice reception. And it fits you really well. It’s well worth the price; you could still wear it five years from now – it’s a classic.’ We didn’t buy a single dress that day, but I was thoroughly schooled in practicality, suitability, and financial sensibility. I have never forgotten that day.”

And so, Jones/Betty/Bess/Willy, we come to the end of your fully-lived years. We will not forget. We will love you. We will cherish the investment you made in each of our lives, and in the countless lives of America’s military men and women that you never even met.

There’s only one word left to say to you, even as we point our index finger and bend our wrist and slowly say:

Yet. Yet, with our love. YET.

FUNERAL SERVICETUESDAY, APRIL 25, 202310:30AMPORTER LORING MORTUARY1101 McCULLOUGH AVENUE

RECEPTION TO FOLLOW.

Rev. Dan Carter will officiate. Interment will follow in San Fernando Cemetery III. Pallbearers will be Bill Johnson, Eian McKeel, Brian Carter, Stephen Carter. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Betty Jeffery’s name to your favorite charity.