Betty Lou Young Killion

Betty Lou Young Killion was born November 20, 1931, to Amos and Rosey (Eubanks) Young in Booneville, Arkansas. She had a brother, Franklin, who was born on September 19, 1933, but sadly passed away due to illness at 6 months 22 days old. Later, her twin siblings, Edward and Patsy were born on November 27, 1938.
Betty's father fell ill with tuberculosis sometime between 1933 and 1937 and he was treated at the state hospital for some time. Her mom had to find work washing people's clothes to support the family. Church members bought supplies and built her family a home on the outside of town during the time of her father's illness. Betty was tasked to care for her younger siblings and was in charge of the household chores, like preparing dinner, while her mom was away at work. This is when Betty likely developed her outstanding cooking skills that we all enjoyed so much.
Some of Betty's favorite childhood memories were going to her grandma and grandpa Eubanks' farm in Piggott, Arkansas during the summer. When she got to go to their farm, she could just be a kid. She always said how much she loved them and what wonderful people they were. Betty also had a special relationship with her grandpa Young, who was a widower. When he walked up the road to her house, she said she knew if grandpa was carrying a sack that meant she was going to get to eat meat that day. Grandpa Young would also periodically take her for ice cream outings.
Betty met Jesse William Killion in the 11th grade at Booneville High School. Jesse would sneak out of class to bring her popcorn at school. Betty graduated from Booneville High School in 1949. Jesse still had another year to complete due to moving from California to Arkansas. Jesse was not a Christian at that time, and Betty's condition for saying yes to his proposal of marriage was that he would always attend worship with her. He agreed to do that, and he always did. They married on August 7, 1950, at the home of their preacher, Mr. and Mrs. Cassidy, with only their two friends Connie Faye and Donald Rowe in attendance.
Shortly after their wedding on August 21, 1950, Jesse was called to active duty military service and was sent to Korea for 21 months to serve during the Korean war. Betty worked as a court clerk while Jesse was away, and she lived with her in-laws Alvin and Daisy. She was able to save enough money to buy a new car in full when Jesse returned from Korea.
Upon his return from Korea and discharge from the military, Betty and Jesse moved to Wichita, Kansas for job opportunities at Boeing, where they both worked for a time. Betty then worked for Rounds & Porter, a shipping company, doing bills of lading.
On September 17, 1953, they became parents to their son Michael. Then on March 6, 1957, they welcomed their daughter Karen. Betty stopped working outside the home once Jesse started working for the Wichita fire department in 1957. She was active in the PTA at Mike and Karen's school, becoming the PTA president at one time. She took Mike and Karen to school, sports practices, games, rehearsals and enjoyed being able to do that.
In 1966, Betty became a realtor and enjoyed helping people work a deal on a home to be able to live the American dream. She always said she would meet people and picture them in a particular home after being able to talk and get to know them. Betty did so well in the real estate market, she became the sole salesperson for Herb Sparks, a custom home builder in Wichita. Later on, her husband obtained his broker's license, and they worked together in this endeavor. Betty and Jesse built a custom house on the Arkansas river in Wichita that they designed together right before their son Mike started high school. She wanted it to be the house that all the kids wanted to come to. They hosted many youth group events, team events, family members, Christmases, and birthday parties in that house.
On August 11, 1982, Betty and Jesse became grandparents to Cheryl, followed by grandchildren Caitlin, Tracy, Jillian, and Bryce. She loved being a grandma. As much as she could, she would take her grandchildren to their favorite restaurants, host sleepovers, cook their favorite foods, buy them fancy outfits or toys and special gifts. She would call and sing 'happy birthday' annually up until she could no longer decipher when the phone was ringing or if the person, she was calling answered to be able to do that.
In 1984, Betty and Jesse moved to Irving, Texas. They eventually settled in Lewisville where Betty worked for a time at her son's daycare center and then ran her own in-home daycare for several years until her mother in-law came to live with them.
In 2008, Betty and Jesse became great grandparents, and Betty was affectionately called '"GG" by Collin. Collin and GG had a special relationship, and he was her favorite person on earth. Years later, great grandchildren Witten, Julia, Cambrie, Conley, Brooks and Briggs were born.
Betty was a member of the Lewisville church of Christ for 24 years. She loved her church family and loved the Lord's church. In particular she loved the time period she worked with Jeff Jenkins and Mike Lewis contacting the visitors that had filled out a visitors card. Recently she said those were the best years of her life. Before moving to Texas Betty and Jesse were members at Northside church of Christ in Wichita, Kansas where Betty taught Sunday school amongst other things.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, Jesse in 2018; her parents Amos and Rosey Young; grandparents Elic and Ruby Eubanks and W.E. and Frances Young; brothers Franklin and Edward Young; sister Pasty (Young) Nehew ; daughter in-law Nancy Killion.
Betty is survived by her son Michael, daughter Karen Bender (Gary), grandchildren Cheryl Killion, Caitlin Rogers (Nick), Tracy Philen (Jace), Jillian Woolard (James), Bryce Bender (Nicole), and great grandchildren Collin Humphries, Witten Rogers, Julia Woolard, Cambrie Rogers, Conley Rogers, Brooks Bender, Briggs Bender, and baby Philen to be.
A funeral service will be held Monday, February 3, 2025, 11:00 am, at Lewisville Church of Christ, 901 College Pkwy, Lewisville, TX 75077. The burial will follow at 2:00 pm at Dallas Ft. Worth National Cemetery.