Betty L. Smith

it might be referred to as an eulogy or in the best sense,

simply a remembrance of

Betty Smith.

Betty Lou Johnson Kay Smith was a life-loving, happiness-seeking, risk-taking individual who faced many challenges. Her early years are not well documented or understood by those who survive her. She called many individuals “family” with no distinct blood ties and she never met a stranger. Some of her upbringing was typical of anyone living in the poor state of West Virginia during the aftermath of World War I and growing up in the Great Depression. Choosing not to recount bad times seemed to be her preferable approach to reliving instances of things she appeared to want to forget.

Music was dear to her, something she shared with others through singing in choirs, usually having a radio on in her home, amassing a nice collection of long-playing records highlighting a span of composers, musicians, and performances from classic to bebop to C&W, to swing to jazz. She had a lovely singing voice from a very young age and was even offered the chance to sing in a band. She entered and won a number of competitions for her singing. One time she won a guitar. But in addition to singing, she was a consummate maker of non-vocal music called yodeling and often performed when asked by family or friends or just because she wanted to. Her favorite yodeling song was “I left my gal in the mountains.” Together with listening comes dancing, which was another of her favorite past times.

As convoluted and inexplicable as her early history seems to be, especially in the minds of some of her children, she lived a very purposeful life, one that she believed could bring her the most joy or sense of accomplishment. Despite never having graduated from high school, she was a voracious reader, with a good grasp of grammar, vocabulary, and word meaning. She knew how to fit in and was always interested in exploring or having new experiences to expand her knowledge. She made an effort to place herself in situations where she could demonstrate capability, such as leading organizations like the American Legion Auxiliary, the Bethel Park Women’s Club, Eastern Star, reupholstering furniture, creating ceramic knickknacks. Each person with whom she came into contact saw her, knew her as she chose.

Her children were a mix of “hers, his, and theirs.” To the relationship with J. R. Smith, Betty brought three children, the oldest a son Thom and two daughters, Zella and Joyce. He brought to their union a daughter, Debbie, who lost her own mother at the young age of less than one year. Then, their daughter Jami came along.

This document is designed to give her children and others the opportunity to present their own memories, thoughts, and comments as they see fit and prefer.