Obituary of Betty Ross Graves

            A memorial service celebrating the life of Betty Ross Graves of Mer Rouge will be held Monday October 15, 2018 at 3:00 pm at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Mer Rouge with Fr. Whit Stodghill officiating. A reception and time of visitation with friends and family will be from 2:00 pm until the time of the service in the church fellowship room.

            Ms. Graves passed away peacefully at her home Monday October 8 after an extended illness. In honor of her instructions and wishes she will be cremated. Services provided by Golden Funeral Home of Bastrop.

            Betty Ross Graves was born November 8, 1939 to Ross Clinton Graves and Helen Plummer Graves. She spent her early childhood following her daddy fishing, hunting, riding horses, and in and out of the cotton fields. After graduating from Mer Rouge High School she headed to Oxford, Mississippi to attend the University of Mississippi, “Ole Miss”. A Rebel at heart herself, Betty Ross fast became an avid Ole Miss Rebel Football Fan attending all football games and tailgating in “The Grove”. If the Rebels traveled she traveled.  Inducted into the Phi Mu Sorority, she quickly made lifelong friendships from coast to coast. Betty Ross earned her Bachelor of Education, Masters of Education, and Education Specialist Degrees from Ole Miss. In between earning her degrees she taught, coached, and counseled in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, and California. She returned to Ole Miss in pursuit of her PhD. Prior to completing her PhD she experienced a collapsed lung while playing in a tennis tournament in Oxford. After a year recovery she took a position as a college administrator in Senatobia, Mississippi for a year. Betty Ross returned home to Mer Rouge to do what she truly loved, farming with her daddy.

            Betty Ross was intelligent, had a very dry sense of humor, and did things her way. You never had to guess what she was thinking, she told you but those who knew her well, knew she had a heart of gold filled with compassion and generosity. She was an avid reader, loved most all sports especially football and tennis, enjoyed traveling, and had a heart for children and animals.

            Betty Ross was preceded in death by her parents, a half-brother Captain Bill Hands of California and a niece Angela Crenshaw. She is survived by her sister Diane Graves Stephenson (Royce), nephew Ross Stephenson (Mariah) special great niece Kendall Stephenson, niece Stephanie Dodson (Marvin) of Maplesville, Ark, several great nephews and nieces, special cousins Ann Payton of Tennessee, and Susie Kelly of Mer Rouge, her beloved pets Buffy and Kaitlyn, and a large circle of friends and extended family.

            The family would like to extend their heartfelt appreciation to her favorite nurses, Dustin McGowen, and Cindy Burlew, for their knowledge, skill, dedication, care and compassion, and for the love and friendship they extended as family.

            In lieu of flowers memorials may be sent to Kings Camp Christian Fellowship PO Box 335 Mer Rouge, La  71261, a humane society of choice or charity of choice.