Betty Joann Tuggle, 89, Ridgeway, MO passed away Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at her home in Ridgeway, MO.
Betty Joann (Hawkins) Tuggle was born to Clarence Hawkins and Bernice Price on July 17, 1931 at the Reed Hospital in Bethany. Her older brother, James, was happy with the new arrival of a baby sister. She attended Ridgeway School where she was a cheerleader and avid supporter of the basketball and football teams. It was during this time she met George Lee Tuggle, whom she married on June 7, 1947. To this union were born three boys, Bob, Jim and Mike and twin girls, Carolyn and Marilyn. After they were married, George and Betty lived on the Redinger farm north of Ridgeway. In 1950 they moved to Bethany where George worked with his cousin, Dean Jincks, who operated a gas station. Working and living in “town” was not what George and Betty wanted in life. So it was not long before they moved back to Ridgeway and started raising turkeys and farming with Wayne Redinger. After living on the Redinger farm for a few years, they bought their first farm of 80 acres north east of Ridgeway. In 1960 they bought the farm they lived on until they retired and moved to town in April 2001. George and Betty believed living on the farm was a wonderful life. They raised turkeys, cows, hogs and row crops. All the kids had plenty of chores to do and spent lots of time helping to raise the turkeys.
Betty enjoyed the spring when the beautiful flowers began to bloom. Over the years she planted large gardens to provide for her family. She liked to watch the sunrises and sunsets, watching the flowers bloom and watching spring come to life. She was delighted when all the birds would come to her bird feeder. She would count all the different kinds of birds. Betty would always have Mike bring in few ears of corn for the squirrels that visited her backyard. She had one special squirrel, she named “Chub”. Betty had many pets while living on the farm. There was one special dog named, Daisy. Daisy could do many tricks for peanuts and she would beg for food until she got it. The grandkids loved to feed her. Another special pet of Betty was “Houndy”. This was her guard dog who she used to send many traveling salesmen “down the road”.
Betty was a farmer’s wife all her life. She worked hard and thoroughly enjoyed life. She will be remembered as a generous, caring wife, Mother, and Grandmother. She enjoyed watching her kids play sports in the summer and during the school year. Betty was always a helping hand to provide food for the snack shack at the Ridgeway fair and concession stands at the school events. Homemade ice cream and wiener roasts were some of her favorite things at family gatherings. Betty always enjoyed all the card parties and many outings to Nine Eagles Park, Brooklyn Falls, the state fair and other fun places with the Hendren, Bayless and Trammell families.
Betty and George took their family to Buckley Chapel Church all throughout the years and considered the Buckley community as their family. When other people were in need, Betty and George were always there with their generous donations.
After Buckley Chapel Church closed, Betty and George moved their membership to the United Methodist Church in Ridgeway. Betty helped to prepare many crafts and food for the annual Lord Acre Sales. She was a member of the Willing Workers group who met on Wednesday to make quilts for Lord Acre Sale. She always looked forward to this time and visiting with the ladies.
Her children and her husband were her life. Betty repeated many, many stories which included all of them. Betty was very proud of her family. She said many times each of the kids were different and their lives and accomplishments differed. Betty loved each of her kids equally. She loved to travel and was able to visit many areas of the world while her son, Bob was in the Navy and her son, Jim was in the Army. After Bob retired from the Navy and moved back to Bethany, Betty enjoyed many afternoons eating pizza and playing cards with her grandson, Jeff. Betty was Jeff’s chauffeur and would drive him to Trenton while he attended NCMC. One of her favorite adventures was going to the Casino with Marilyn. She was thrilled when Marilyn would arrange for an overnight stay and treated her to a free buffet. Betty enjoyed visiting Jim and his family in south Missouri. She enjoyed shopping with Mary and eating out during her visits. Betty always had stories about playing with Jim’s dog, Yoda when she returned home. One of her favorite places to visit was Branson and her family treated her to a trip to Branson to celebrate her 85th Birthday. Betty checked on Mike almost every day to make sure the cows were okay and row crops were growing. Betty had many stories of her visits with Carolyn in Tennessee. She enjoyed the many phone calls from Carolyn and hearing about her adventures.
As the years went on, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren became a big part of Betty’s life. She was so proud of all of them and cherished spending time with them. She was always baking or making goodies for them.
Betty’s health began to fade in the winter of 2020. She was hospitalized for several weeks. While in the hospital all she talked about was coming home. The last of March her family made arrangement for her to be home. All of her family was around to care for her and to return all the love that she had given to them. This made her last days very memorable. Betty’s last day on earth was April 14, 2021. Her children and grandchildren all gathered with her to enjoy another day together, sharing stories, looking at pictures, eating and visiting. They surrounded her with love as her work on Earth was completed and she went to rest with her Savior.
Awaiting Betty in Heaven were her husband, George; her parents, Clarence Hawkins and Bernice Price; her brother, James, and her grandson, Jeffrey Lee Tuggle and many friends.
Betty is survived by her son, Bob (Rita) Tuggle of Bethany, son, Jim (Mary) Tuggle of Republic, Mo, son, Mike of Ridgeway, daughter, Carolyn Tuggle of Cleveland Tennessee, and daughter Marilyn (Ronnie) Jones of Eagleville. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren, 24 great grandchildren and 16 great-great grandchildren.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, April 19 at the United Methodist Church, Ridgeway, MO under the direction of Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany, MO. Burial will follow in Rose Hill Cemetery, Ridgeway, MO. The family will receive friends from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Sunday at Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany, MO. Memorials may be made to Rose Hill Cemetery in care of Roberson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 46, Bethany, MO 64424.
Online condolences may be left at www.robersonfuneralhome.com
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