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Betty Ruth (Coley) Neal was born on January 5, 1933 in 'Number One Community' of Sumner County, Tennessee, the daughter of Herschel Coley (1912-1992) and Dora (Marshall) Coley (1917-2006).
She graduated from Gallatin High School where she was elected both Homecoming Queen and Lady of the Green and Gold. She went on to obtain a degree in English and Library Science from Longwood College.
Betty was a life-long member of Gallatin First United Methodist Church, and that was where she was married to Thomas Henry "Tom" Neal Jr.
She served her church as a secretary for the administrative board and enjoyed attending the Wallace Sunday School Class and the Women’s Circle.
A lifelong learner and voracious reader, Betty instilled a love of the written word in her children and in her students as an English teacher and a high school librarian. She also served many years as a Girl Scout Troop leader, Sunday School teacher, and school room mother organizing and surviving numerous Girl Scout campouts, school trips, vacation bible schools, bake sales and children's sporting events. She also volunteered for Gallatin CARES, Educate a Woman and Meals-on-Wheels. She also loved searching for treasures in any antique store.
Her passion for historical preservation led her to volunteer with Carnton Mansion, Cragfont and the Bledose Lick Historical Society. She was also active politically throughout her life serving as a Williamson County Commissioner, as Secretary and Treasurer of the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women, and on the Board of the National Republican Women, and inspite of having raised at least two Democrats, she was proud of her family.
Betty was a fierce competitor at bridge, on the golf course and at everything she undertook, believing that if it was worth doing, then it was worth doing well. Ever tenacious, independent and strong-willed, she brooked no excuses, accepted no whining and insisted on courtesy. And, in later years, in spite of the ravages of Alzheimers, she was gracious, polite and concerned about others to the end of her well-lived life.
She was 85 years old when she passed away on June 26, 2018.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters Nancy (Coley) Chambers and Dora Ann (Coley) Brandow, while survivors included her husband, three daughters and a son-in-law, seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, a married brother, a Neal brother-in-law and a Ginnani sister-in-law and Betty and Tom’s companion Big Cat who kept her company and slept on her feet for the last few years of Betty's life.
Funeral Services were held at Alexander's Funeral Home in Gallatin, and burial was in Crestview Cemetery in Gallatin.
Original obituary in The Tennessean on June 28, 2018, with much added info from the obit at Alexander Funeral Home in Gallatin TN.
Betty Ruth (Coley) Neal was born on January 5, 1933 in 'Number One Community' of Sumner County, Tennessee, the daughter of Herschel Coley (1912-1992) and Dora (Marshall) Coley (1917-2006).
She graduated from Gallatin High School where she was elected both Homecoming Queen and Lady of the Green and Gold. She went on to obtain a degree in English and Library Science from Longwood College.
Betty was a life-long member of Gallatin First United Methodist Church, and that was where she was married to Thomas Henry "Tom" Neal Jr.
She served her church as a secretary for the administrative board and enjoyed attending the Wallace Sunday School Class and the Women’s Circle.
A lifelong learner and voracious reader, Betty instilled a love of the written word in her children and in her students as an English teacher and a high school librarian. She also served many years as a Girl Scout Troop leader, Sunday School teacher, and school room mother organizing and surviving numerous Girl Scout campouts, school trips, vacation bible schools, bake sales and children's sporting events. She also volunteered for Gallatin CARES, Educate a Woman and Meals-on-Wheels. She also loved searching for treasures in any antique store.
Her passion for historical preservation led her to volunteer with Carnton Mansion, Cragfont and the Bledose Lick Historical Society. She was also active politically throughout her life serving as a Williamson County Commissioner, as Secretary and Treasurer of the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women, and on the Board of the National Republican Women, and inspite of having raised at least two Democrats, she was proud of her family.
Betty was a fierce competitor at bridge, on the golf course and at everything she undertook, believing that if it was worth doing, then it was worth doing well. Ever tenacious, independent and strong-willed, she brooked no excuses, accepted no whining and insisted on courtesy. And, in later years, in spite of the ravages of Alzheimers, she was gracious, polite and concerned about others to the end of her well-lived life.
She was 85 years old when she passed away on June 26, 2018.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters Nancy (Coley) Chambers and Dora Ann (Coley) Brandow, while survivors included her husband, three daughters and a son-in-law, seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, a married brother, a Neal brother-in-law and a Ginnani sister-in-law and Betty and Tom’s companion Big Cat who kept her company and slept on her feet for the last few years of Betty's life.
Funeral Services were held at Alexander's Funeral Home in Gallatin, and burial was in Crestview Cemetery in Gallatin.
Original obituary in The Tennessean on June 28, 2018, with much added info from the obit at Alexander Funeral Home in Gallatin TN.
`
Betty Ruth (Coley) Neal was born on January 5, 1933 in 'Number One Community' of Sumner County, Tennessee, the daughter of Herschel Coley (1912-1992) and Dora (Marshall) Coley (1917-2006).
She graduated from Gallatin High School where she was elected both Homecoming Queen and Lady of the Green and Gold. She went on to obtain a degree in English and Library Science from Longwood College.
Betty was a life-long member of Gallatin First United Methodist Church, and that was where she was married to Thomas Henry "Tom" Neal Jr.
She served her church as a secretary for the administrative board and enjoyed attending the Wallace Sunday School Class and the Women’s Circle.
A lifelong learner and voracious reader, Betty instilled a love of the written word in her children and in her students as an English teacher and a high school librarian. She also served many years as a Girl Scout Troop leader, Sunday School teacher, and school room mother organizing and surviving numerous Girl Scout campouts, school trips, vacation bible schools, bake sales and children's sporting events. She also volunteered for Gallatin CARES, Educate a Woman and Meals-on-Wheels. She also loved searching for treasures in any antique store.
Her passion for historical preservation led her to volunteer with Carnton Mansion, Cragfont and the Bledose Lick Historical Society. She was also active politically throughout her life serving as a Williamson County Commissioner, as Secretary and Treasurer of the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women, and on the Board of the National Republican Women, and inspite of having raised at least two Democrats, she was proud of her family.
Betty was a fierce competitor at bridge, on the golf course and at everything she undertook, believing that if it was worth doing, then it was worth doing well. Ever tenacious, independent and strong-willed, she brooked no excuses, accepted no whining and insisted on courtesy. And, in later years, in spite of the ravages of Alzheimers, she was gracious, polite and concerned about others to the end of her well-lived life.
She was 85 years old when she passed away on June 26, 2018.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters Nancy (Coley) Chambers and Dora Ann (Coley) Brandow, while survivors included her husband, three daughters and a son-in-law, seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, a married brother, a Neal brother-in-law and a Ginnani sister-in-law and Betty and Tom’s companion Big Cat who kept her company and slept on her feet for the last few years of Betty's life.
Funeral Services were held at Alexander's Funeral Home in Gallatin, and burial was in Crestview Cemetery in Gallatin.
Original obituary in The Tennessean on June 28, 2018, with much added info from the obit at Alexander Funeral Home in Gallatin TN.
Betty Ruth (Coley) Neal was born on January 5, 1933 in 'Number One Community' of Sumner County, Tennessee, the daughter of Herschel Coley (1912-1992) and Dora (Marshall) Coley (1917-2006).
She graduated from Gallatin High School where she was elected both Homecoming Queen and Lady of the Green and Gold. She went on to obtain a degree in English and Library Science from Longwood College.
Betty was a life-long member of Gallatin First United Methodist Church, and that was where she was married to Thomas Henry "Tom" Neal Jr.
She served her church as a secretary for the administrative board and enjoyed attending the Wallace Sunday School Class and the Women’s Circle.
A lifelong learner and voracious reader, Betty instilled a love of the written word in her children and in her students as an English teacher and a high school librarian. She also served many years as a Girl Scout Troop leader, Sunday School teacher, and school room mother organizing and surviving numerous Girl Scout campouts, school trips, vacation bible schools, bake sales and children's sporting events. She also volunteered for Gallatin CARES, Educate a Woman and Meals-on-Wheels. She also loved searching for treasures in any antique store.
Her passion for historical preservation led her to volunteer with Carnton Mansion, Cragfont and the Bledose Lick Historical Society. She was also active politically throughout her life serving as a Williamson County Commissioner, as Secretary and Treasurer of the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women, and on the Board of the National Republican Women, and inspite of having raised at least two Democrats, she was proud of her family.
Betty was a fierce competitor at bridge, on the golf course and at everything she undertook, believing that if it was worth doing, then it was worth doing well. Ever tenacious, independent and strong-willed, she brooked no excuses, accepted no whining and insisted on courtesy. And, in later years, in spite of the ravages of Alzheimers, she was gracious, polite and concerned about others to the end of her well-lived life.
She was 85 years old when she passed away on June 26, 2018.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters Nancy (Coley) Chambers and Dora Ann (Coley) Brandow, while survivors included her husband, three daughters and a son-in-law, seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, a married brother, a Neal brother-in-law and a Ginnani sister-in-law and Betty and Tom’s companion Big Cat who kept her company and slept on her feet for the last few years of Betty's life.
Funeral Services were held at Alexander's Funeral Home in Gallatin, and burial was in Crestview Cemetery in Gallatin.
Original obituary in The Tennessean on June 28, 2018, with much added info from the obit at Alexander Funeral Home in Gallatin TN.
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