Betty Jo Burchett

Born Dec. 1, 1936, in Lake Charles, La., Betty spent her adolescent years in Baytown, Texas, graduating from Robert E Lee High School and marrying her Gander football-playing sweetheart Chester Wayne Burchett on July 24, 1956. Her early married life to a United States Navy officer and pilot was peripatetic, and her love of gardening was first evidenced as she planted her favorite plants and flowers from each place she lived into the soil of every new home…culminating in a backyard garden in The Woodlands that was an explosion of color and butterflies and birds. She also carried with her a love of music from place to place and her passion for the piano never wavered. She played every day until the end of her life. A gifted pianist and singer, Betty’s focus was on spiritual music. She played for her Sunday School class at Champion Forest Baptist Church for decades and if anyone came to the house at a certain time of morning, they would hear her voice at the piano lifting praise songs Heavenward.

And it was her Christian faith that defined Betty. It was impossible to meet her and speak for more than 10 minutes without understanding her abiding love for Jesus Christ, her faith in God’s saving grace and confidence that the Holy Spirit guided her every step. An ardent student of the Bible, Betty did not just read a few verses each day. She had a library of reference material and she devoted hours every day to reading and intense study. At the very end of her life, she was doing a parallel study of the books of Daniel and Revelation and she had friends who would visit weekly to discuss what she was learning. For Betty, death was not something she feared … it was transition to a Glory that she had embraced and anticipated all of her life.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband Chet, her parents Lester and Lucille Treadway and a grandson. She is survived by her children Chet Burchett (Marcy), Susie Mason (Scott), Stephen Burchett (Sonya) and Elisabeth Baron (Jimmy); her brother JE Treadway (Janet); 10 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

A graveside service will be held at 1pm on Friday, Jan. 30, at Forest Park The Woodlands.