Betty Jo Thrash

Betty Jo Johnston Thrash went to be with her Lord and Savior on April 7, 2026. Betty was born on March 7, 1931, in La Feria, Texas. She grew up in Port Isabel and graduated from Port Isabel High School at the age of 16 when she left home to attend Texas State College for Women (now Texas Women’s University) where she obtained a degree in Speech Therapy in 1951. She was married to her Aggie sweetheart, Purvis J. Thrash, on the day of her graduation in the Little Chapel In-The-Woods on the TWU campus. She taught elementary school in Mineola, Texas for several years before she and Purvis moved to South Louisiana where their first child, Jay, was born in 1955. In 1961, after a few years in Corpus Christi and Houston, they moved to Dallas where the twins, Jan and Jill, were born in 1964. She and Purvis had a wonderful marriage and were able to travel all over the world. After Purvis passed away in 1995, she stayed very active in her beloved church, St. Andrew Methodist in Plano. She was a wonderful daughter, wife, mother and grandmother and, along with her immediate family, she had a long list of nieces and nephews she prayed for every day. She was a happy and joyful woman of faith with a contagious laugh who loved to paint, read her Bible, go to church and be with her family and friends.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Purvis James Thrash, Sr., her parents L.C. and Corinne Johnston, Sr., her brother Rev. & Dr. L.C. “Buddy” Johnston, Jr. and her sister, Mary Lou Johnston Anderson and her son-in-law, Scott A. Beckman. She is survived by her brother-in-law Arthur Anderson, sister-in-law Evelyn M. Johnston, her son, Purvis James (“Jay”) Thrash, Jr. and wife Julie and her twin daughters Jan Caroline (Thrash) Beckman and Jill Marie (Thrash) Denton and husband Brett. She had 5 grandchildren: Todd Douglas Thrash (Garilea), Scott Ross Thrash (Cassie), Catherine Caroline Beckman Erturkuner (Zander), Alexandra Marie Denton and Matthew James Denton. Betty has 7 great-grandchildren: Easton, Kaydence, Everlea, Owen, Adam, Brayden, and Kalleigh, and many nieces, nephews and extended family members, some with spouses.

In lieu of or in addition to flowers, please consider making a donation to Betty Jo’s beloved church, St. Andrew Methodist Church (https://standrewmethodist.onlinegiving.org) in Plano.