Wilhite, Betty J.

Betty Jane Wilhite, age 88, of Clinton, Missouri graduated to heaven on the night of Wednesday, February 9th of 2022 at Golden Valley Memorial Hospital in Clinton, Missouri surrounded by her family.

Betty was born to Isaac Newton Morris and Fern Amelia Munsell-Morris on January 8th, 1934 in Monegaw Springs, Missouri.  Betty grew to love rural Missouri and had many fond memories of being mischievious with her “accomplice” brothers during her childhood years, especially her brother, Sydney Morris.  She worked along side her father and brothers tending their homestead until her family moved to California when she was around the age of 10 in 1944.

There Betty and her family spent most of their days working in the orchards or local cannery.  Betty and her family moved to a labor camp in Fresno where they picked cotton when she was at the age of 15.  Betty accepted Jesus Christ as her savior in the summer of 1944. Her family attended the Church of the Brethren in Empire, California where she was baptized.  Betty and her brothers attended Empire Union Grammar school in Empire, California where she graduated the 8th grade. She continued on to her sophmore year at Modesto High working in the cafeteria where she would later do janitorial work to pay for her brothers’ education.  When Betty was around 12 years old, she became a nanny to a Filipino family where she tended the home and cared for several children.

Betty and her family later moved to Flint, Michigan in 1951 or 1952 for 5 months.  Her family continued on to Missouri, but Betty returned to Empire, California where she later met her deceased husband, Billy Dean Wilhite.  They married 2 weeks later on November 6th, 1954 in Reno, Nevada. Betty and her husband moved to Portland, Oregon where she became a homemaker.

    After 9 years of marriage, Betty and Bill were blessed with the arrival of their daughter, Patti Jo.  Betty became serious about her faith and became active at the West Lynch Conservative Baptist Church.

Betty shared her love for children working with the JEWEL’s.  She also attended book keeping school before Betty and her husband moved to Molalla, OR.  There she became very active in church where she served the Lord hosting Backyard Bible Clubs, VBS, teaching Sunday School, and attended Women’s Bible Studied.  She also attended Child for Christ workshops to improve her child evangelism skills and became the janitor for the church.

     Betty also spent many of her years being a caretaker.  She cared for her husband until he passed in 1990. Then she cared for her husband’s aunt and her husband’s uncle until their passing.  Then she later moved in with her daughter and son-in-law where she cared for her four grandchildren.

    Two years later, they moved to Dundee, Oregon and attended the McMinville Baptist Church before moving to Harper, Missouri in June 1998.  Betty continued her child evangelism ministry at Hopewell Baptist Church participating in Girls in Action and VBS. Then they moved to Osceola, Missouri in February 2001 where she became active at the First Baptist Church of Lowry City where she participated in VBS, AWANA, Hospitality Committee, Bible studies, Wild Game Dinner, and mission trips and also volunteered her time soliciting for the Lowry City Christian School’s auction where two of her grandchildren attended.

In 2017, Betty Wilhite and her daughter, Patti Cruz, moved to Clinton, Missouri due to a decline in her health.  Betty suffered from severe back pain, but never let that stop her from loving and serving her Lord in church. She greatly loved and ministered to her family until the Lord called her home in February of 2022.

She was preceded by her mother, father, brothers (Byron and Leo, Elmer, and Benjamin Morris), and one son-in-law.

She was survived by her brother, Sydney Morris of Lingle, Wyoming, her daughter, Patti Cruz of Clinton, Missouri, three grandchildren (Angela Edwards of Newburg, Oregon, Jose A. Cruz of Clinton, Missouri, and Brenda Stacy of Clinton Missouri), two grandchildren by choice (Jorge Cruz and Fawn Ormsby), 14 great grandchildren, and 1 great great grandchild.