Betty Jean Bullock

Betty Bullock, 83, of Temple, Texas died on November 13, 2011 after a brief illness and has passed into eternity to be with her God and Savior. She was a cherished wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend and will be missed by those who knew her.

Betty was born on January 19 ^th , 1928 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Her father, Fred Hughes, was an engineer on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and so the family moved around Texas some, and she attended schools in several Texas towns. But many of her recollections of her childhood centered around living in Houston. As a young person she began her interest in music which continued into adulthood. From as far back as I can remember, Mom had a piano in our house which she played frequently. Despite her talent on the piano and keyboard, as her son, I was most impressed that she had played the bass fiddle in a school orchestra while attending high school in the Houston area. A female bass fiddle musician… is that cool or what.

Betty married Garland Bullock in El Paso on December 18, 1948, prior to the completion of his military service. They had met prior to his recall to the United States Air Force at Emmanuel Baptist Church in El Paso where she was a member along with her family, and she sang in the choir. From that time, they lived in Tucson, Arizona through the end of Garland’s military service and then moved to San Antonio and later to Waco.

Betty attended Baylor University for some time while Garland was finishing his degree, and then became a Mom while Garland served as a dormitory director on the Baylor campus. She would often tell stories about how careful the Baylor students were in keeping the noise down with a new Mom and baby in the dorm.

After being employed at the First National Bank and the Service Mutual Insurance Agency, Betty began a career as a public school secretary at Meadowbrook Elementary and then Tennyson Junior High School in the Waco ISD.

Betty was a devout Christian and served as a choir member, pianist, organist and teacher in the various churches that she and Garland attended. My Dad described her as a truly happy person. For me, she was a living example of the Christian life. There were many conversations that I had with my Mom as I was growing up… sometimes worrying about how everyday things would turn out, sometimes complaining about what was going on. Her consistent advice to her son was: “Do your best.” And she had the faith that our best was sufficient for the obstacles ahead. Those of us who remain will have to trust in that same faith that she had.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Garland R. Bullock Sr. of Milano, her daughter, Terry Jean Bullock of Cameron, her parents, Fred and Emma Hughes of Boerne, her brother, Virgil Hughes of Dallas, and her sister, Hazel Hughes Parrack of San Antonio. She is survived by her son, Garland Bullock, Jr., and his wife, Vicky, of Austin, her daughter , Kathryn Bullock of Temple, as well as her grandchildren, Jamie Daughdrill and her husband Chris of Sugarland, Derek Bullock and his wife Nese of Round Rock, Tiffany Bullock of Cameron and her great-grandchildren, Gabriel Acosta, Kathrine Acosta, Ian Daughdrill and Gabriella Daughdrill.

The family would like to thank Dr. Bonnett and the doctors and nurses of Scott and White Hospital and Angela Lowman, RN and the Scott and White Hospice Center for their assistance, care and compassion during this time.

Visitation with the family was held on Thursday, November 17, 2011 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at  Green-Patterson Funeral Home in Cameron, Texas. The funeral service was held at the Green-Patterson Funeral Home on Friday, November 18, 2011 at 10am. Burial was at the Milano Cemetery following the funeral service.