Betty Jean Harmsen

Betty was born on December 18, 1941, in Harvey, Illinois, to Opal Wayne and Marie Frazer. She grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1959. At William Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa, she majored in math and minored in biology, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1963. Shortly after graduation, Betty married her college sweetheart, Gary Alvin Harmsen of Bennett, Iowa. They moved to Nebraska, where she taught high school math, got her master’s degree in mathematics, and began a family. She taught math for several years at Westside High School in Omaha, Nebraska, as well as at Brownell-Talbot college preparatory school. She later taught at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. At age 48 she went back to college to earn her PhD in mathematics with a focus on difference equations at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, graduating in 1995. She then taught at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri, and at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, as well as another year at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

In 2007, Betty and Gary moved to Horseshoe Bay, Texas. That same year Betty visited Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to meet a child she sponsored. She fell in love with the small Caribbean country and founded Haiti Share, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charity that provides schooling and leadership training to Haitian youth. She made many trips to Haiti over the years and was affectionately known by her Haitian team and those they served as “Doctor Betty.” Betty also taught math classes at Central Texas College-Marble Falls.

Betty had a deep faith that touched every area of her life, and her passion for math never faded. She was always learning and serving others, from writing Bible study curriculum to helping her grandsons with their math homework. Musically gifted, she played the violin, piano, organ, guitar, and mandolin, and she sang in the church choir. She loved singing around the house and going for long walks, especially with her beloved miniature schnauzer. She will be remembered for her overflowing joy, her deep intellect, and her kindness to strangers and family and friends alike.

Betty is survived by her daughter Cheri Huerta, her husband Juan, and their children David, Daniel, and Nathan of McAllen, Texas; her daughter Debbie Harmsen of Dallas; her brother Robert Frazer and his wife Mary Ann of Hendersonville, Tennessee, her sister Barbara Colligan of Denver, Colorado, and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service honoring Betty’s life will be held at 1:30 pm Saturday, March 20th, at The Bible Church of the Lakes, 24101 Texas Highway 71, Horseshoe Bay, Texas. Memorials may be given to Haiti Share, Inc. at www.haitishare.org or Haiti Share, P.O. Box 9208, Horseshoe Bay, Texas 78657–9208.

Online condolences may be made at: www.clementswilcoxfunealhome.com