Betty H Thompson

Betty Lee Hewitt Strauss Thompson, 98, died peacefully in her sleep November 3, 2019. Betty was born in Buffalo, NY to Leeila C. and James F. Hewitt and moved to Little Rock in time to celebrate her first birthday sleeping in a dresser drawer at the Packett House on Cantrell Road. She attended Park Hill Elementary and graduated from Little Rock Senior High (now Central). She attended Texas Women's University in Denton before transferring to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, graduating Pi Beta Kappa. Betty was a member of Pi Beta Phi, The 20 Century Club, the PEO sisterhood and Second Presbyterian Church. After Betty married Bob Strauss in 1942 they moved several times during his service in WWII then returned to Little Rock to start their family. Betty was always involved in trying to make the world a better place. She was a member of the 1958 Women's Emergency Committee; her name can be found etched in the glass sunroom at the Terry Mansion. She was a proud member of Peace Links, a group that encouraged friendship between American and Soviet women during the Cold War, and participated in a women's exchange program, hosting the Soviet women in Little Rock, then travelling to Russia to show that we can all get along, peacefully. Betty was blessed with a loving extended family and is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Lucy Strauss Price and Ben O. Price, Jr. of Boise, Idaho, step-daughters Billie King (Jerry) and Peggy McKinnon Brown (Bill), sister-in-law Kitty Harbuck (Milton), nieces Babs Dodd (David), Billie Thorpe (Rob) and Linda Higgs (Haltom), her only nephew, Dan Watson(Anita); grandchildren Kimberly Pfeifer Minear (Michael), Philip Pfeifer (Tina), David Pfeifer (Anouska), Sarah Weeldreyer, (Brock Thompson (Niki), Britney Bouldin (Brent), Beth Biscuglia (Dave) as well as 18 great grandchildren and a great grandchild on the way. She loved everyone for who they are. She enjoyed her last years in the company of her dear friend, Charles Mott. Betty was preceded in death by her husbands Robert Ward Strauss and Thomas J. Thompson; son Richard Hewitt Strauss; brother E.L. “Bud” Hewitt; niece Nancy Johnson; grandson Bennett Thompson and granddaughter Michelle Strauss. Betty loved people, was an avid bridge player and world traveler always ready for a new adventure. She loved life and lived it with grace and dignity. A lifelong Razorback fan, she would call the hogs upon request – anywhere, anytime. A special thanks to Kitty Harbuck, Billie Thorpe and Billie King, the Mott family, the Price family the staff at Briarwood, and her friends that visited her regularly. You all made it possible for her to stay where she needed to be. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Pulaski County Humane Society, University of Arkansas Foundation, the Nature Conversancy or Second Presbyterian Church. A celebration of her life will be held Saturday, November 9th, 2019 at Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock at 3:00 PM with a reception following. Razorback attire is encouraged.