In Loving Memory of Betty Jean Vance

Together Again, Married over fifty years, reunited in the Presence of the One they served.

“Precious in the sight of YHWH is the death of His saints.” (Psalm 116:15)

Born September 9, 1932 – Big Spring, Texas

Entered Her Rest – November 4, 2025

She was the heart of our family, steady, gentle, and strong in spirit. Born in Big Spring, Texas, and raised as the oldest of ten children, she learned early what it meant to care for others. She mothered her brothers and sisters with the same patience and devotion she later gave to her own family.

When life called her to work, she rose before the sun and gave her best without complaint. At the factory in Conway, she labored through winter’s cold and summer’s heat, faithfully, quietly, and without missing a day unless she was truly sick. She took pride in her small attendance bonus, not for the money, but because it stood for something: reliability, endurance, and honor in her word. She was soft as butter, yet when it came to right and wrong, she could drop the hammer of discipline without hesitation. It was never harshness, it was strength measured by love, correction anchored in care.

I always knew my boundaries because she was my foundation. She gave me security, structure, and the certainty that I was loved. Her presence was the steady rhythm of my childhood, a rock that didn’t move, a light that didn’t fade.

Thanksgivings were glorious when I was young, the whole clan gathering in the mountains near Leslie, Arkansas. The old house with the wraparound porch overflowed with laughter, cousins running wild, the smell of turkey and pies filling the air.But at the center of it all was Mom, making sure everyone was fed, everyone was loved, everyone belonged.

She was married for over fifty years, walking beside her husband in quiet devotion. Their love endured everything time could bring, and now they are reunited, together again, surrounded by family gone before. There are more waiting for her there than here, and I know she was welcomed home with joy.

She was selfless and humble, yet strong as iron when life required it.

Her faith in God was her compass, her labor her offering, her love her legacy.

She didn’t need recognition; her reward was the peace of a job well done and the assurance that she had lived honestly, given fully, and loved deeply.

For all who knew her, she was the example we needed, a woman of quiet strength, steady faith, and enduring grace. She taught by doing, led by serving, and loved without measure.

Her work is finished, her rest secure, her reunion complete.

She is home.

“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness…Her children arise up and call her blessed.” -Proverbs 31:26, 28

Righteous Judge of Heaven, I bring before You the soul of my mother.

She was weary in her final watch, but I know Your mercy endures forever.

Let the Ruach HaKodosh bear witness that her case is closed,

her record sealed in the Lamb’s Book of Life,

and her rest made sure.

Give us the peace of that verdict until I see her again.