My son's mom's mom, his Grandma Bettie, passed gently into forever just before midnight last night, here in Georgetown, Texas. Her family are long-time Georgetown residents, growing with this city over the generations.
She was in her home, with family and hospice attending her when she passed.
Bettie Millar is survived by two daughters, five grandchildren, and a passel of great-grandchildren. All of them are smart, creative individuals and they all remember their grandma with love.
Bettie loved to travel. She spent many happy years on the road, mostly visiting the western half of the United States. She particularly loved Colorado.
She would travel with friends and family but also had no problem hooking up the Saturn behind her RV and taking off by herself for months at a time.
Bettie was an old fashioned girl. She struggled a bit with the modern world but got every moment of joy out of her life that she could. When she could no longer travel, she volunteered almost every day at the Estrella Oaks Nursing and Rehab facility here in Georgetown. She brought a sweet smile and a cheerful attitude, spreading a little extra light with every visit.
Bettie was great at games. No one could beat grandma. Her body gave out but her mind was sharp to the end, beating my son at Pente just a couple weeks before she passed. He is good at Pente, she had never played before.
If, as a healer once said, the end of life is like "the taking off a tight shoe", when Bettie's end came, she did not suffer long. Today, she is free of all earthly cares, free of any pain, and my prayers are for her family. Her granddaughter, Mary Rose, wrote a poem to her grandmother a few days ago that well reflects how much she will be missed...
The Southern bell isn’t ringing and her clocks are not chiming. The sun sets, wondering if a new day will be rising.
The garden misses its keep. The granddaughter weeps.
And soon comes the starry, undefinable sleep.
For Bettie Millar, the woman who told me rhymes and bedtime stories, taught me how to be a lady, and shared her passion for plants with me. Don’t go..