Betty Louise Patton

Betty Louise Butler was born at Saint Rose Hospital in Great Bend, Kansas, on August 22, 1926, to Laurenzo Frank Butler and Myrtel Marie Courtney. She was the oldest of three children: Eleanor Kendall, deceased 1988; and Mendell Butler, currently residing in Wichita, Kansas. Betty passed to the next life on November 12, 2014 at approximately 3:00 a.m.

Betty's family lived on her paternal grandparent's farm in Albert, Kansas. Before Betty's 10th birthday, the family bought their own farm. Betty and her siblings attended a one-room school house through Betty's 8th grade where they comprised one half of the total student body. The Depression and the Dust Bowl led the Butler family to move to Dodge City, Kansas. Betty and Eleanor were highly successful students, making the honor roll in high school. To make ends meet, Betty's mother worked long hours packing parachutes at the Dodge City Air Force Base. Betty was able to maintain the highest scholastic standards even as she became the primary homemaker in her mother's absence. She would often get up before dawn to care for her younger siblings and then do her homework after midnight.

During the war, their church sponsored social events for the soldiers who were stationed at the Air Force base. It was at one of these events that she meet Charles Patton. Pat first came because a buddy of his told him that there was a girl who was a dead ringer for Judy Garland. Pat and Betty were married in June of 1945, but this was not before Betty's father had received a firm reply with a positive report of Pat's good character and scholastic accomplishments from the principal of his high school in Charleston, West Virginia. While Pat and Betty were traveling to meet Pat's family in West Virginia, Betty's mother suddenly died of a heart attack. The couple rushed back to Kansas where Pat took a job in a local bakery and they provided a home for Betty's brother, Mendell, who was still in high school. This act of service allowed her father to obtain his training to become a funeral director.

After Betty's father completed his education and started in the funeral home business, Pat worked for him for a time. However, they soon headed north to Detroit, Michigan, where Pat was able to find work in the automotive industry. Sometime after they moved to Michigan, they began to attend the Royal Oak Church of Christ. Between the years of 1950 and 1959 they had four daughters, Barbara, Rebecca, Renetta and Laurie.

Betty completed an arduous one-year course and received her LPN degree and embarked on a new career as a nurse. She maintained a Foster's license for troubled teens and she and Pat provided a temporary home for several young people. She and Pat were board members for the Metropolitan Detroit Youth Chorus, for which she also served as nurse. She also greatly enjoyed teaching ladies Bible Class at Royal Oak Church of Christ.

In their later years, Pat and Betty also became very involved in prison ministry, encouraging and discipling various prisoners by way of visits to Jackson Prison through mail correspondence. When arthritis forced Betty to retire from nursing and limit her activities, she became a course grader for the Church Colson prison ministry. Following a long illness, Pat died in 2001. Betty's health had deteriorated so much that soon after Pat's death, she made her home with Barbara's family until the time of her passing. She continued her prison correspondence as long as she was able, learning how to use a computer even while battling arthritic fingers and diminishing eyesight. Even after her mobility was restricted she contributed to the household by doing mending and helping with the children's education.

Betty Louse Butler Patton left a rich legacy of service, presenting her body as a living sacrifice from her early years until she no longer to summon strength to carry on. Her servant's heart continued to be evident to those who provided her care in her last years and it was a privilege to participate in some small way to Betty's life-long service to her Lord.