Elizabeth A. Heath

Betty Heath was born Elizabeth Ann Scott on Nov 11th, 1927 on a farm in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. She was the 11th of 13 children of James A. and Ruth Ann Scott. As a child she attended Harlow school and was a member of East Salem Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon. In 1946 she married Rufus (Bud) E. Blagg also of Mt. Vernon, who had just returned from service in the Army. In in 1954 due to Bud's health, they just packed up the few things they owned, two little boys (Garry (7) and Michael (3)) and headed to where ever Phoenix Arizona was - in the middle of the summer - with no air conditioning - or idea of what the future held - no job - no family- nothing but a place to live for a while through the graciousness of a new friend. They later purchased a 2 room house and then built onto it. They became lifelong friends with neighbors Jack and Margaret Robertson, in a community ironically called 'Hells Canyon'. Betty was employed at the Valley Pie Company in Sunnyslope for many years, and was the main wage earner to support the family as her husband was a disabled WWII veteran. She and Bud were active and were instrumental in building the Missionary Baptist Church of Cactus, AZ. She later was employed at John C. Lincoln Hospital upon it's opening in 1965, and in 1966 she and Bud were blessed to have a 3rd child, their daughter Denise. Bud passed away in 1968, and Betty married Larry J. Heath in 1972. She continued to work at John C. Lincoln until 1975 when she went to work at Shadow Mountain High School until she retired in 1989. She and Pastor Larry joined Paradise Hills Four Square Church, and while there, worked alongside Pastor Mary Jayne May and Sister Webster at the church camps in Williams, Arizona. Later, she and Larry were active members of Scottsdale Worship Center. While at Scottsdale Worship, she and Pastor Larry started and were active in Nursing Home Ministries throughout the Valley. Even after Pastor Larry's passing, her son Michael picked up the mantle with his family and friends, continued the ministries for many years until the time came that Betty was no longer able to participate. She was widowed for the second time as Larry died in 1998. Shortly after Larry's death Betty relocated to Sun City where she attended Grace Bible Church and loved being a 'greeter' each Sunday.

One of her favorite pastimes was going 'garage saleing' on Saturday mornings, and she would often spend more time talking to people than she did shopping. Like Will Rogers, "she never met a stranger" and more than likely, a conversation would eventually get to a point where the "how long have you lived in Arizona?" question came up. No one can recall anyone ever claiming more seniority in Arizona than Betty. While living in Sun City, when asked where she was from, she would always respond "Southern Illinois" not wanting to be lumped in with the 'Chicago Illinois crowd'.

She also enjoyed hosting the entire family to her home for holiday meals, and family time. It wasn't until she was unable to, that she agreed to give up the responsibility of preparing the meal to other family members, the holiday meal tradition continued even through her moving into an 'Independent Living Apartment". She absolutely loved the 'White Elephant' gift exchange at Christmas!

She also loved collecting 'Mickey Mouse' paraphernalia, no room in her home was void of "Mickey" in one form or another.

She is survived by her three children. Garry Blagg and wife Shari, Michael Blagg and wife Nancy, and Denise Hudgens and husband Dave, all of Phoenix. A sister, Ruby Gowler of Fairfield, Illinois, a close niece, Pat Brown of Mt. Vernon, Illinois, brother in law Chuck Heath and wife Bev, and sister in law Carol Williams of Phoenix, Nine grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews located throughout the country.