Betty J. Carroll

Betty J Carroll, 94, of Fort Wayne Indiana, formerly of San Antonio, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, passed away peacefully at Canterbury Nursing Home at 4:15 am on Monday, May 12, 2025. She is preceded in death by four of her five children, her grandson, her siblings, and numerous friends. She is survived by her eldest daughter, Peggy Choka; granddaughter, Marcella (James) Hodge; great granddaughter, Heather (Andrew) Godsey; and great great-step granddaughter, Taber Godsey.

What an amazing woman she was. She grew up during the Great Depression and was never wasteful. "Waste not, want not" was a big motto of hers. Her mother passed away when she was just 11, and her dad left of a broken heart. He had no idea what to do with four children at the time. Eventually an aunt took them in when she learned they were alone. And her dad came back around. But her and her siblings took care of each other, working and doing what they had to to get by. Nana worked as a soda jerk when she was 13 or 14 and would sneak ice cream under the counter, as they never were afforded many sweets or snacks.

She loved school and was the first woman to attend an all male junior college in Texas. San Antonio was her home, and she had five babies by the time she was 21. She went to school and worked as a telephone operator. She would ride the bus to work and do her homework on there or on her way to school. Both, full-time. She got her Bachelor's or Associate's in History. But she was an accountant... Honestly, she's done all kinds of things so it's a bit blurry lol..

She moved herself and her babies at different times all around this country, even Fort Wayne, eventually planting herself in Dayton when she was 40. She worked at Wright Patterson AFB and was the president of her union. She was always protesting for or against something or someone. Always rooting for and helping out the underdog. She was a proud democratic, Unitarian Universalist, and never gave up hope for other people struggling even if they had given up hope, themselves. She helped me out when I was growing up and always had another hand for any of my friends too. She never met a stranger. She was always socializing, helping out with a church event, laughing, writing, telling stories. She had a heart full of adventure and projects. Was the sweetest woman I had the chance of knowing but she was tough and sassy too. She was kind but sturdy. Also, very bold. She was married and divorced twice by the age of 30 and vowed never to be with another man again. She was a very independent woman. Very admirable.

She was a published author. Starting her first book when she moved from Dayton down to Portsmouth Ohio in 92 or 3. I believe that house out in the country and through the woods was her inspiration for her stories. She had written a book, called the Mystery of the Red Brick House (a fictional mystery involving her five children) many years earlier. And finally published it around this time before starting her new series- The Foothill Spirits. This series was a fictional one, each taking place in a different time period.... And I was the main character ❤️ Little Heather Jean. I would travel through different graves and live the life of that deceased person. I was an indigenous person in one and there were plans for there to be a six book series, but then she got busy on her memoir and of course, after a while she moved back to Fort Wayne to be closer to her kids.

Eventually, we all migrated to Fort Wayne, aside from her daughter, my great aunt, Marty. Nana continued working, planning, going to school, and helping her family and everyone she knew. She outlived her exes, siblings, most friends and sadly, four of her children, and her grandson too.

She developed dementia in her late 80s and I always thought it was because she just had so many files in her brain of allll the things, stories, people and places, events, and hobbies she had experienced in her time. Her brain's filing cabinet was just too full. She passed away very early this morning. She was 94 years old. What a full life she had. She didn't waste a single minute of it.

There's just so much more I could say. So many stories....

What I learned from that amazing woman is to never take any day for granted. Life is a gift. It is an adventure. Everybody dies, but not everybody lives. Go on an adventure. Have fun.

Time

"Waste not, want not"