Death of Aunt Betty Jo Hanners

I record here the passing of Daniel "Dan" Autrey Hanners younger sister, Betty Jo Hanners.
It is rather easy over time for facts to become blurred, information to become lost or confused, if the main sources are not resorted to, or are no longer available. With that in mind, I thought I should address some of  the errors I found in her obituary.

Here is the obituary as found in the newspaper:

BETTY J. HANNERS 

Lovingly Remembered of Montgomery County. Passed away peacefully on June 4, 2015, Betty loved life and shared that zest for living with her family, friends and many clients. She found equanimity and joy working with her horses. During WWII Betty graduated from high school and was employed with the FBI. She received a masters degree from The George Washington University, Washington, DC. She created a successful business in the accounting field.
Betty was preceded in death by her father, Clayborn Hanners; mother, MaryAnn Autry; two brothers, Dan and Tom Hanners; sister, Pat Beckham and a great grandson, Cpl. James W. Higgins Jr. (USMC 1/1).
She is survived by her daughter, Mary Lee Ragazinsky; four grandchildren, nine great grandchildren, nine great-great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Betty was blessed with five generations of family to share her life with. Services will be held on Saturday, June 20, 2015, 11 a.m. at Germantown Baptist Church, 17640 Riffle Road, Germantown, Maryland

Our Family's Information
Betty Jo Hanners father was Daniel Gladstone Hanners, who went by the nickname, "Glad." Her mother was Mary Ann Autrey who went by Mary. Her father was not Clayborn, but her oldest brother, and her mothers first name was Mary not MaryAnn, nor was her maiden name spelled Autry, but Autrey! There were five children in the family who all predeceased Betty Jo.

Glad and Mary Hanners children were:

1.Claybourne Gladstone Hanners b.Oct 27,1918 in Naylor, Ripley Co., Missouri d.Oct 16, 1924 in Doniphan, Ripley Co., Missouri of Diptheria, just ten days before his sixth birthday. According to his brother Dan, "He was the light of his mothers eyes." 

I saw Claybourne's tall plinth tombstone in the cemetery in Doniphan, before it was destroyed by vandals, and it said upon it, "A Bud Of Promise Never Bloomed."

2.Daniel "Dan" Autrey Hanners b.Jul 11, 1921 in Doniphan, Ripley Co., Missouri d.Jul 27, 2007 in Hood River, Oregon. Just after his 86th birthday. This is our line.

3.Betty Jo Hanners b.Jul 23, 1925 in Doniphan, Ripley Co., Missouri d.Jun 4, 2015 I assume in Maryland or Washington D.C. The obit doesn't say where she died, or where she is buried. She married Homer Lee Watson, and they had one daughter, Mary Lee Watson. The marriage did not last however and Betty Jo took back her maiden name of Hanners.

4.Thomas "Tom" Wright Hanners b.Aug 20, 1926 in Doniphan, Ripley Co., Missouri d.May 8, 1962
He died tragically on his farm in Ripley Co., Missouri, from a tractor rolling over on him.

5.Patricia "Pat" Louis Hanners b.Dec 17, 1927 Doniphan, Ripley Co., Missouri d.Jan 26, 2004 Socorro, Socorro Co., New Mexico
Grandpa's youngest sister was his favorite. He was so angry, he wouldn't speak to her husband Darl after her death, because he thought Darl donated Pats body to science, instead of having her buried. The truth was that Pat had made the arrangements to donate her body before her death.

 Betty Jo Hanners senior picture from Doniphan High School, Ripley Co., Missouri.
Left to right: Her daughter, Mary Lee Watson-Ragazinsky and Betty Jo Hanners
Left to right: Betty J. Hanners, Dan A. Hanners (Grandpa Hanners), Pat L. Hanners-Beckham, and Maryann Scearce-Hanners (Grandma Hanners). This was taken on their trip in 1992 in Missouri.
Grandpa and Grandma did a lot of traveling together with grandpa's sisters in their later years and enjoyed trips to Canada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Missouri, to name just a few. They often traveled with Pats husband Darl, and Darls brother, Thomas H. "TH" Beckham and sister in-law, Una Mae Beckham too.
Left to right: Pat Hanners-Beckham and Betty Jo Hanners. 





Comments

Anonymous said…
She resting next to her mother and father in Doniphan.

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