Betty Bumgarner

Kerrville Betty Jo Lyle Barber Bumgarner, 74, of Fredericksburg, passed from this life on Monday, November 15, 2010 at a local hospital.

Born July 10, 1936 to Catherine Mae Crawford Lyle and Leonard Clyde Lyle in Clarendon, Texas in the home of Catherines parents, she was the first of four children born to this couple.

When Betty was 10 months old, she had spinal meningitis and wasnTMt expected to live. So many children that had had this horrible disease either died or was deformed in some way, but by the grace of God, Betty had no side effects whatsoever.

The year Betty was to begin second grade, the family moved to Cactus, Texas, where she would go to school until the sixth grade. Betty attended 7th and 8th grades at Dumas Junior High School. She started the 9th grade at Dumas High School, where her class was the largest 9th grade to be in Dumas High School, with a class of 105.

Upon graduation, Betty went to Amarillo Junior College for one year. She and a classmate rented a room in Amarillo. At the end of the school year, she got a job with Phillips Petroleum, so she made the decision not to return to college in the Fall. Betty worked in Payroll Department for a while, then transferred to the Loading Rack to do the billing of the gasoline trucks that came in to fill up. It was here where she met Carl N. Barber, whom she married in 1958 and in 1959, the two were blessed with a daughter, Wendy.

After living in Pampa for many years, Betty and Wendy moved to Dallas, where Betty continued to be involved in the oil and gas business, which had been male dominated, and she helped the industry realize the value of women in the workforce.

Mrs. Bumgarner changed from the oil and gas field to follow her passion for helping people and worked for the TX Commission for the Blind for 5 years as a Rehabilitation Assistant.

She moved to Kerrville in 1998 and started her retirement life, where she volunteered with many organizations, especially CAM, an organization near to her heart. In 2002, she met Richard Bumgarner and had a whirlwind romance. They were married and lived 4 wonderful years together, until he passed in 2006.

Mrs. Bumgarner is predeceased by her parents, and her husband, Richard quotDickquot Bumgarner.

Those left to honor and cherish her memory are her daughter, Wendy Barber of Dallas, TX her special daughter, Tammy Patterson of Dallas Dawn Lamoine of WA her sisters, Barbara Lyle of New Braunfels, TX and Karen Rector, and her husband, Dick, of Kerrville and a brother, Leonard Lyle, and his wife, Clara, of Kerrville her nieces, Katie and Cindy and her nephews, Mike, Matt and Rick.

A Celebration of her life will be held at the First Christian Church, 1900 Goat Creek Rd, Kerrville at 10AM Thursday, November 18, 2010.

The family suggests that donations in her name be made to CAM.

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