Bettie Mae Stokes (1928 - 2010)
Bettie Stokes
Bettie Mae Stokes, nee Johnson, 81, of Belleville, Ill., died Sunday, June 13, 2010, with her family by her side.
The second of four children, Bettie was born Oct. 10, 1928, in Hume, Ill., to Garland Jennings "Pete" Johnson, a truck driver, and the former Una Mae Henderson, a homemaker and laundress. On May 1, 1948, a young Bettie married Jack Tilden Stokes, the young man who lived across the street from her in Sullivan, Ind.
Bettie was a retired elementary school teacher. She was a loving wife, a devoted mother, and an adoring and doting grandmother to her grandchildren, whom she loved deeply. A strong, vigorous, and capable woman, Bettie was the center and the heart of her family, and she will be missed forever.
Bettie loved music. She played the piano and loved listening to artists such as Nat King Cole and Ray Price, among others. She was an enthusiastic fan of both professional and collegiate sports, such as the St. Louis Cardinals, the St. Louis Rams, the St. Louis Blues, the Boston Celtics, as well as the teams of her alma mater, Indiana State. She enjoyed watching television and movies and attending the symphony and the theater with her husband. During the holidays, with her family at home, Bettie loved to play board games well into the night, games which would inevitably lead to much laughter.
Bettie was raised and attended school in Sullivan, Ind., graduating from Sullivan High School in 1946. She graduated from Indiana State Teachers College (Indiana State University) in 1950 and earned a Master's degree in special education at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 1972.
Bettie was a dedicated elementary school teacher and a strong supporter of education. Bettie accepted her first teaching position in 1950 at a grade school in Basin, Wyo. In 1951, she taught at an elementary school in Champaign, Ill. The following year, she and her husband moved to Oblong, Ill., where she taught at several area elementary schools, including one-room school houses. In the summer of 1961, she and her family moved to Belleville, Ill., where Bettie spent several years raising her young children. In 1968, she accepted a teaching position with District 118 in Belleville, teaching at Bunsen School. She ended her career at Union School, where she retired in 1994.
Following her retirement, Bettie spent much of her time helping to raise two of her grandchildren, as well as performing volunteer work. She was a member of the local Retired Senior Volunteer Program, and she spent countless hours as an advocate for the mentally ill and as the secretary for the local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. This was one of Bettie's great passions.
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Tamara Gaye Stokes; a grandson, John Scott Johnson; her parents; and two brothers, Robert Eugene Johnson and Boyd Garland "Popcorn" Johnson.
Surviving are her loving husband of 62 years, Dr. Jack Tilden Stokes of Belleville, Ill.; three children, Deirdre Jan Stokes of Carbondale, Ill., Shaun Sherman Stokes of Belleville, Ill., and Jay T. (Michelle) Stokes of Belleville, Ill.; four grandchildren, Aislinn Elizabeth Johnson of Carbondale, Ill., Alexander Tilden Stokes of Belleville, Ill., Jack Theophil Stokes of Belleville, Ill., and Emily Mae Stokes of Belleville, Ill.; an older brother, William Norman (Beverly) Johnson of Muncie, Ind.; and several nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be made in Bettie's name to NAMI Southwestern Illinois, located at the Gateway Regional Medical Center, 2100 Madison Ave., Granite City, Ill. 62040. Condolences may be expressed to the family online atwww.rennerfh.com.
Visitation: Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 16, 2010, at George Renner & Sons Funeral Home, Belleville, Ill.
Funeral: Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 17, 2010, at George Renner & Sons Funeral Home, Belleville, Ill., with the Rev. Linda Reynolds officiating. Burial will be at Walnut Hill Cemetery, Belleville, Ill.
GEORGE RENNER & SONS FUNERAL HOME, Belleville, Ill.
Published in Belleville News-Democrat from June 15 to June 16, 2010