To request a copy of this photo for your own personal use, please
contact our state coordinator. If you are not a family member or the original photographer —
please refrain from copying or distributing this photo to other websites.
Additional WEST Surnames in ROSE LAWN Cemetery
WEST, Sharon LeeWEST, Robert Delos "Bob"WEST, Mary Regina "Jeanie"WEST, Donna FayeWEST, Samuel Earl "Sam"WEST, Lucy Flo "Clyde"WEST, Barbara CeliaWEST, Lesta LeeWEST, Betty JeanEVANS WEST, Betty JeanWEST, Grover CorneliusWEST, Glenda KayWEST, Elbert GlenWEST, Bonnie Fay Lawson Additional WEST Surnames in SEBASTIAN County
WEST, Anna BWEST, Zelton LeeWEST, Helen MarianWEST, Geneva RosellaWEST, Henry NealWEST, JaneWEST, Pearl LWEST, Carolyn JWEST, RachelWEST, Lucian BWEST, Pearl CWEST, William EWEST, PairleeWEST, OlaWEST, DaughterWEST, SonWEST, Florence GWEST, Angelque DeannaWEST, Victor PiusWEST, MayWEST, Wanda AnitaWEST, Robert LeeWEST, Robert LeeWEST, Warren DWEST, G D "Jack"WEST, Eileen BWEST, BelleWEST, Felix IWEST, Infant SonWEST, Infant SonWEST, Robert Joseph "Bob"WEST, Minnie BWEST, Jean MaxineWEST, Diana GWEST, CoraWEST, Joseph DWEST, Christine K
Thank you for visiting the Arkansas Gravestone Photo Project.
On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and
perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in Arkansas,
we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a
Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and
genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 1/17/24 • Approved: 1/17/24 • Last Updated: 1/20/24 • R1514426-G1514426-S3
January 25, 1927 - July 14, 2017
Betty Jean (Evans) West, 90 of Topeka, died July 14, 2017. She was born on January 25, 1927 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the only child of Carl Ben Evans and Ruby Almeda (Smith) Evans. Her parents owned a bakery and later a restaurant, where Betty helped out after school. A talented gymnast and tap dancer, Betty nurtured a life-long love of music and dance, inspiring both her children to study dance and encouraging everyone around her at Lexington Park Assisted Living to “get up and keep moving.”
Betty graduated from Fort Smith High School and Central College in Conway, Arkansas, with a concentration in music and theater. She married her childhood sweetheart, Grover “G.C.” West, on June 20, 1948. G.C.’s career took them to California, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and then to Norfolk, Virginia, where they settled in 1963. Betty was a devoted wife, mother, and homemaker. She was an active volunteer, especially at Virginia Heights Baptist Church, where she and G.C. taught Sunday school and she served as church librarian.
In 1976, they fulfilled a life-long dream of going into business for themselves and moved to Emporia, Virginia where they established West Auto Parts, which they operated for twenty years. They both became active in the community, especially at Main Street Baptist Church, where they taught Sunday school, and Betty established and staffed the church library.
After G.C. became a pilot, they flew to many Bonanza “Fly-ins,” touring the country and enjoying the company of other flying couples, as well as taking many flights to visit their children in New Hampshire and Kansas. Following her husband’s death, Betty moved to Topeka in 2001. There she became an integral part of the lives of her grandchildren, transporting them to various activities and, always the baker, providing pies for every occasion.
Betty is survived by her daughter, Jeanne West and her partner Laura Nagy, of Grantham New Hampshire; her son, Gary West and his wife Juanita West, of Topeka; four grandchildren (Megan, Benjamin, Lyndsey, and Arthur) and four great grandchildren (Enrique, Memphis, Jordyn, and Isaiah).
She will lie in state after 2:00 pm Friday at Brennan-Mathena Funeral Home where the family will receive friends from 6:00 until 8:00 pm. A second visitation will be 2:00 until 4:00 pm Sunday, July 23, 2017 at Edwards Funeral Home, Fort Smith, Arkansas. Graveside services will be 10:00 am Monday at Rose Lawn Park Cemetery, Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Photo courtesy of Frances Allen Titsworth
Contributed on 1/17/24 by Billsully060
Email This Contributor
Suggest a Correction
Record #: 1514426