Betty J. Patterson

Betty J. Patterson, 94, of Smithville, Texas went to be with our precious Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven on Wednesday, September 20, 2023.

 

She was born November 23, 1928, at Jefferson Davis Hospital in Houston, Texas to her late parents George Leslie McCaig and Leether Lee Cutler. Betty's father was a farmer on the rice prairies near Katy, Texas. When her pregnant mother went into labor, they had to get her quickly to their only relative who owned a car for the long trip to the hospital in Houston...and they did that in a wooden farm wagon.

 

Betty's childhood was good, but very typical of the rough, hardscrabble, Depression-era times, so family hardship led her to be primarily raised by her dear maternal grandmother. She was only able to complete the seventh grade, before embarking on an interesting work journey with a first job at age 13. 

 

Later in her teenage years, she worked at a defense plant in Houston during World War II, where she welded fins on bombs and made bullets "for our boys to use over there", she said. In her twenties, she learned a new technology and became a master switchboard operator at Pure Oil Company. She left that job to run the switchboard and help the salesmen book their appointments at a Ford dealership in Houston...and that's where she met the love of her life, a handsome boy from Mont Belvieu, Texas who was shopping for a new car.

 

Betty married Joe Amon Patterson, Sr. on June 26, 1955, and they spent almost 62 wonderful years together as one before his passing on April 22, 2017. Together, Betty and Joe spent long, rewarding lives owning multiple businesses and various types of commercial and ranch real estate in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Joe was the salesman and Betty was the office manager, bookkeeper, and the glue that kept it all together.

 

They moved to their Alum Creek ranch full-time in 1975 from San Antonio, along with their children, Joe, Jr. and Dixie. Betty and Joe raised cattle together and opened an antique store, which rapidly grew to an thriving enterprise of almost 30 independently owned antique stores and a bustling flea market located on Highway 71 halfway between Bastrop and Smithville.

 

For more than 65 years, Betty was a proud and passionate member of the Order of the Eastern Star, with her home being Smithville Chapter #39. She served the local organization as Worthy Matron in 1979, and she held virtually every other office at the chapter, district, and state levels. She was extremely proficient in the sacred ritual work of the Order, and she always insisted that members memorize their parts and not read them. At the time of her passing, Betty served the Grand Chapter of Texas as the Grand Representative to New Jersey.

 

Betty is survived by her loving son, Joe A. Patterson, Jr. and his wife Candy (whom she lovingly called her second daughter) of New Braunfels, her son-in-law Kevin Boatright of San Marcos, and six grandchildren, Brayden Patterson (wife Mikala) of Houston, Bryce Patterson of San Marcos, Kylie Patterson of Covington, Indiana, Blaine Barnett of San Marcos, Brooks Boatright of Buda, and Landrey Boatright of Houston. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Joe, Sr., her daughter Dixie Lee Boatright, her parents, an adopted half-brother, and her grandmother.

 

Memorial services will be held on Monday, October 9 at First Baptist Church of Smithville, Texas. The service will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the main sanctuary, and following will be a time of gathering and visitation in the FBC fellowship hall.

 

A private, immediate family only burial service will take place at 1:30 p.m. at Alum Creek Cemetery.