Betty Sawyer

IN LOVING MEMORY

Betty Lou Allen Sawyer, 88, was ushered into her heavenly home on Tuesday, October 9, 2018. At the time of her passing, she was in hospice care with Bristol Hospice of Waxahachie through the Legend Oaks Rehabilitation Facility in Waxahachie, Texas. She left this earth after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's and passed peacefully in her sleep at Legend Oaks with her hospice nurse and family being there for her through her entire illnesses.

Betty, known to her grandchildren and others as 'Nanny' was born December 28, 1929, in the Sardis/Lone Elm area between Waxahachie and Midlothian, Texas to Roscoe Lue 'Hook' Allen and Ima Gertrude Hawks Allen. She is the oldest of two children--with Charles Allen being her older brother, who is also deceased.

She attended Sardis/Lone Elm schools and finished her education through Waxahachie High School. Following high school, she became a legal assistant and spent many decades of her career working for attorneys in Dallas, Texas who specialized in corporate law and also legal adoptions, which was one of her greatest joys--placing babies in homes of loving adoptive parents. She actually flew across the US several times in delivering these babies to their new parents.

After her legal career was over in Dallas, she worked many years as a legal assistant for Ted Redington in Waxahachie, Texas. She also worked for Joe Grubbs before he became one of the judges in Waxahachie. Even after her legal career ended, she still worked at home and did other legal work for Ted Redington as needed part-time. She loved working with people and was very experienced in helping others in working through the court system and being involved with Waxahachie Courthouse employees/staff. She made a huge contribution in Waxahachie in that arena of expertise in the legal field.

She was very passionate about the voting process and was always there to help campaign for specific nominees. She contributed financially and was very generous in her time and love and going out into the community and trying to get votes for her 'hopefully' elected candidates. She also contributed to many other causes in Waxahachie that were important to her and also supported all of her children and grandchildren in their endeavors.

In her spare time, she was an awesome horse-woman. She rode horses all of her life and had several who were her favorites. She bailed hay into her older years, worked cattle and had a garden and knew how to drive many kinds of tractors and other farm equipment expertly.

Betty had a very contagious smile; she never met a stranger; she always had something positive that she wanted to share with you. She was especially extravagant when it came to being there for her friends and supporting them, as she was involved with so many different areas that had to do with the legal field and the voting process, which exposed her to numerous members of the Waxahachie community.

She was also an amazing cook. Her Italian cream cake sold almost every year at The Lord's Acre sale for $60.00 or more. She also made these cakes for her friends all throughout her life. During Christmas, she started 3-6 weeks ahead baking and cooking all kinds of special cakes and treats, as she learned to cook from her mother, Ima Allen.

Betty was a most amazing mother, grandmother and great grandmother....even though she wasn't well enough to be able to meet her first great grandchild. She always kept grandchildren when she wasn't working and was so very generous in her love, her time and even her money in always buying special items for them that she thought they would enjoy, and they loved her dearly as well.

She was a Brownie leader in her younger years. She was very talented and made drapes, crochet quilts, bedspreads, and many more similar items. She was a collector of crystal and Franciscan-ware dishes, in addition to her own private collection of jewelry that she really enjoyed. She was also always active and loved physical exercise outdoors, but had her own treadmill and enjoyed working out, especially in her younger years.

She was a member of the Young at Heart Sunday School Class of The First Baptist Church of Waxahachie, Texas for many years. She really loved going to hear Dr. Leroy Fenton preach, as he was the pastor at First Baptist for many years when she was attending. He was truly a huge influence in her life and a dear friend of our family, and she loved him until the day she passed and spoke of him continually. She also really appreciated the members of her Sunday School class and attended until her health did not permit it anymore.

The main love and companion of her life in her older years was her precious dachshund, George. He was an adorable dog, and he was with her for 14 years. He brought so much joy to her and also the family. Much of her time was spent walking him and feeding him and just sharing her love with him, and he adored her!

Betty was preceded in death by her mother, Ima Gertrude Allen in 1993; her father, Roscoe Lue Allen in 1990; and her brother, Charles R. Allen of Rockwall, Texas in 2017. She is survived by her son, Steve Sawyer (wife, Judy Sawyer and her daughters: Magan and Katy Venable) of Waxahachie; Amanda Sawyer (great grandsons, Damon Estes and Noah Denham); and Emily Brown (husband, John Brown); all of Waxahachie, her daughter, Cindy Sawyer-Stinson (widow of Donald Lee Stinson, of Waxahachie; Don's daughter, Tawnee Fernandez and husband, Phil Fernandez and their daughter, Isabella Fernandez--residing in Denver, Colorado); two grandsons: Jeremy Morton (wife, Mickie Morton; great grandsons Logan and Zane Morton and great granddaughter Kayli Morton) of Waxahachie; and Clint Morton (great granddaughters, Olivia Morton and Myranda Morton with great-great grandson Hank Morton) of Waxahachie; granddaughters: Kathy Morton Armstrong (great grandson, Jack Morton Armstrong);

The grandchildren affectionately knew her as 'Nanny'.

Services to celebrate her life are scheduled for Saturday, October 20, 2018 at 10:00 am at the Sardis United Methodist Church with Dr. Leroy Fenton officiating. Interment will follow at Sardis Cemetery in Sardis, Texas.

Visitation with the family will be held Friday, October 19, 2018 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Wayne Boze Funeral Home in Waxahachie.

Arrangements are under the direction of Wayne Boze Funeral Home in Waxahachie. www.waynebozefuneralhome.com

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