Betty Lou Puckett

Betty Lou Puckett passed away on Friday, May 3, 2013, at the Sheridan County Long Term Care Unit in Hoxie, Kansas, at the age of 96. She was born Betty Lou Harris on December 23, l916 in Clay Center, KS to the late Thomas C. and Lela Gwendolyn Losey Harris. She was the oldest of three children. Betty started grade school in Clay Center and moved in her early grade school years to Abilen. She graduated from Abilene High School with the class of 1934. Betty attended Washburn University and graduated in 1938 with a bachelor’s degree in music education. She was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and Sigma Alpha Iota honorary sorority. After a brief career teaching music in Wetmore, KS and Utica, KS, Betty married Franklin O. Puckett on June 19, l941. Frank and Betty made their home in Abilene and were blessed with three children, Jon, Jan and Tom. Betty was a housewife and gave piano lessons to children in Abilene for many years. She was an active member of the Presbyterian Church where she was an Elder, sang in the choir for many years and participated in various other activities of the church. She was a dedicated volunteer at Memorial Hospital in Abilene. Betty loved flowers and plants and especially enjoyed working in her yard. She enjoyed birds and always made sure that her bird feeders were full. She was also an animal lover and in her later years spent many hours caring for her little dog Annie. She is survived by sons Jon and his wife Carol of Miltonvale, KS, Tom and his wife Tammy of Phoenix, AZ and daughter Janet Leopold and her husband David of Hoxie, KS; five grandsons, Brett Leopold (wife Heather and sons Henry and Edward) of Fairway, KS, Brian Leopold (wife Tracy and children Baylee, Grace and Allyson) of Wichita, Christopher Leopold (wife Sara and children Eleanor and Thomas) of Shawnee, KS, Patrick Leopold (wife Megan and daughters Sadie and Nora) of Lawrence, KS, Sam Puckett of Kansas City, MO (significant other Mandy Converse); one granddaughter, Cynthia Phillips-Breurec (husband Xavier and daughter Cheyenne) of Phoenix, AZ; sister, Roberta Morris of Littleton, CO; sister-in-law, Molly Harris of Newport Beach, CA; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Frank, on April 5, 1999, by an infant granddaughter, Melissa, and by her brother, Thomas C. Harris, Jr.