I wanted to add a story of a time when my mom lived with Glenn and Marta. 
They had a representative over from an insurance company or ALTCS to sign her up. They were going through a checklist where the Rep. went down the paper asking Mom questions. Towards the beginning she asked mom if she was a smoker. Mom said No.   Then later during the questionnaire she asked mom if she had any problems with stiffness or joints.  My mom excitedly said to the Rep. “I told you I don’t smoke!”  Too funny. They said they started laughing and mom still didn’t get it.  Glenn said she looked like she wanted to say “ What? What did I do or say?”
That totally sounds like something she would say. 

Mom's favorite music was country.  Janice & I were often drug along to square dances to avoid babysitting. 
But when I was in elementary school, I'd run home for lunch & mom would usually have the Pop station on. 
After their appearance on Ed Sullivan,  my brothers brought home a Beatles 45.  Dad exclaimed "ya ain't playing that in my house"   Mom let us play it 😀


As a homeless teenager Betty opened her home to me as another "child" in her home.  Although her oldest 2 boys Ricky and Glenn were already out on their own,  and Clayton was mostly at the machine shop, I became quite close to Betty, Randy and Pam, and of course Janice at the time was my only close friend.  Betty taught me the basics of good homemaking - not only how to cook and clean, also how to be thrifty and shop wisely - and what it means be a loyal wife and  loving mother. From her, I learned and developed values which I still hold dear.  Betty was never judgmental about others who may have been irritating or unlike her; I never once heard her complain.  Sometimes she shared a frustration with me,  (especially when she was trying to stop smoking!) and in those few times I learned from her how important it is to keep doing your responsibility no matter how you might feel about what is happening.  People always felt good to be around her; she never let on signs of stress. The last time I saw Betty, I asked her how she kept from going  nuts (!) with all the things that befell her and others. She confided that at bedtime she always says a prayer - one for each, custom - over her children . She laughed and admitted it didn't always help her to sleep but said it did feel better knowing she shared with a God who could do better than she at handling the "big things."  Sweet, humble, 100% grace- Betty Ruth was my mom #2;  I always felt very protective of her in our last days, and it feels good to know SHE knew she was very much loved back by us all .

The earliest memory of my mom is when she would take me to a friend’s home, on the outskirts of Wichita, where there was a boy about my age (three). We would play together, mostly in the dirt and sand. We only went there for a few months and I don’t remember the boy’s name.
Another memory, when I was three, was when I went to the hospital to get my tonsils removed. Mom and the nurse told me that I could have ice cream afterwards. When I woke up my throat was sore, and I could hardly swallow or even open my mouth. The nurse brought me the ice cream all right, but I didn’t want it.
When Rick and I were young, our milk delivered by the milk man in quart glass bottles on the front porch. Mom had a quart of chocolate milk delivered every Saturday morning. This was to bribe Rick and I to do our weekly house chores. We could not have any chocolate milk or watch cartoons on TV, until she was satisfied that we had completed our task.
Mom would take us to downtown Wichita to shop for our clothes. This was in the fifties before malls existed. JC Penny, Sears, and Montgomery Wards were all downtown. It was an adventure every time. The best part was going to Kresge’s for lunch. The diner was in the lower level from the sidewalk. We would get a hamburger, fries, and a coke. Rick and I always wanted sit at the counter on the stools.
Mom always supported our sporting events. She would attend most of my little league baseballs games. I remember one game when I hit a home run my first two times at bat. She would yell and scream louder that everyone else. I ended up striking out the third time at bat because I was trying too hard to make it three in a row.
Rick and I learned a lot about cooking and baking from mom. We helped her with baking cookies, cakes, or pies and after we got the hang of it, she would let us do some of the cooking and baking with her supervision. My dad did not know how to cook, so when my mom spent a couple days in the hospital, Rick and I prepared his meals.

Betty & Clayton Gorges with their five children: Glenn, Rick, Randy, Janice and Pamela.

Four Generations: Betty's Mother (Gladys), Betty, Betty's Daughters (Janice & Pamela), And Eldest Granddaughter (Nicolette)

OBITUARY

Betty Ruth Gorges

August 17, 1932 – August 24, 2020

Chapel of the Chimes Mortuary

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