Ruth Ellen Motlow Betts was born March 31, 1950, in Birmingham, Alabama. She attended Woodlawn High School. She married the love of her life, Ira Moore Betts, Jr, May 20, 1972. They lived in Montgomery, Alabama. They spent 54 beautiful years of marriage together. She was a wonderful mother to Ira Moore Betts, III and Laura Motlow Betts Leavell.
Ruth stepped down from her career as a court reporter to be a homemaker and help manage her husband’s appraisal business.
Ruth had a contagious smile and an adventurous spirit. She never met a stranger, and everyone around her always felt special. She had a gift for hospitality and decorating. She enjoyed entertaining friends and family, loved traveling and spending time with her grandchildren. She and her immediate family were active members of First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, William Dudley Motlow and Freddie Baker Motlow, her brothers Lemuel Thomas Motlow and James Baker Motlow and sister Evelyn Motlow Britton. She is survived by her husband, Ira Moore Betts, Jr, her son, Ira Moore Betts, III (Julie), her daughter Laura Motlow Betts Leavell (Robert), her four grandchildren, Walker, Owen and Grant Betts and Justin Leavell, her sister Marilyn Motlow Gillespie and her brother William Dudley Motlow, Jr (Lisa).
A celebration of Ruth’s Life will be held at Ridout’s Valley Chapel, 1800 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, Alabama 35209 on September 15, 2026, at 11:00 A.M. Visitation will start one hour prior at 10:00 A.M.
