Betty Ruth Vest

Betty was born on June 22, 1927 in Monroe County, MO the daughter of Frank Steele and Ruth (Morgan) Heathman who preceded her in death. She was married on January 30, 1946 in Paris, MO to Charles Vest who preceded her in death on September 29, 2013.

Betty’s faith and her devotion to her family and God, led her on a journey that included raising six of her own children and with the help of her husband selflessly fostered 24 additional children.

Betty and Charles worked together as a missionary team by helping establish churches along the way during their travels helping many families.

Betty was a homemaker, mother and wife, grandmother and great grandmother. She wore many hats during her 90 years. She drove school buses and bookmobiles, taught in schools and dedicated herself to her work. Betty never met a stranger. She enjoyed her children (rowdy as they may be), her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Family was her life. Calls to her children every morning was the start of her day. She kept in touch with lifelong friends, calling and asking about their families. During her time at South Hampton, she made many friends and kept up with their families also. She especially enjoyed buying pizza for the staff and having dinner with them.

Betty had many hobbies: sewing, cooking, baking, reading and teaching others short cuts and/or proper ways to make a recipe better by experiment.

Survivors include: four sons, Daniel Vest (Rhonda) of Rockmart, GA, Charles (Paul) Vest (Ladonna) of Chappell Hill, TX, Ezra Vest (Bernice) of Tebbetts, MO and John Vest (Rhonda) of Alamosa, CO; one daughter, Mary Vest (Lesa) of Hartford, IA; one son-in-law Wayne Farris; and family friend Paul Vanderlinden, 12 grandchildren, Matt, Pete, Beth, Michael, Jason, Ross, Deanna, David, Markus, Paula, Rebecca and Laura; 25 great grandchildren, Delilah, Hudson, Jordan, Parker, Viviana, Laurissa, Kristina, Zachery, Tyler, Colby, Jacob, Corbin, Kiera, Alexa, Lucus, Penny, Alice, Karlie, Kal-El, Isabell, Abigail, Jeremiah, Ethan, Carson and Amelia. She was also preceded in death by one daughter, Dale Farris and two grandsons, Charles Vest and Kevin Vest.

Graveside services will be held at a later date in Walnut Grove Cemetery in Paris, MO.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital (Cancer for Kids).