Betty Lee Blevins, the daughter of Albert Clifton McDowell and Blanche Maggie Irwin, was born July 8, 1931 in Mountain View, Missouri. She passed away September 2, 2021 at Woodland Manor in Springfield, Missouri at the age of 90 years, 1 month and 25 days.
Betty grew up in Mountain View and graduated from High School there where she excelled in playing volleyball. She moved to Springfield in 1964 and later made her home in Rogersville. She worked for Blue Bonnet before going on to work for the Dayco Corporation where she worked for several years before retiring. Not one to stay idle, after retirement she went to work as a cashier at Rathbone Hardware Store.
She was united in marriage to Wayne Smith in September of 1951 and to their union a daughter, Pamela was born. She later married Basil Rice and Lewis Blevins.
In her spare time, Betty loved working in the yard and took great pride in her flower gardens. She also enjoyed fishing, and would go year-round no matter how cold it was and she passed that love on to her daughter Pam. Betty was an avid crocheter, and especially liked to make doilies. She loved to set outdoors admiring God’s creations, watching the birds and squirrels. At a young age, she learned to play the piano by ear and even though she never learned to read music, she could play it so beautifully. As her health declined and she had to move to the nursing home, she enjoyed doing word search games and playing bingo and was always telling her family about the prizes she had won.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Blanche McDowell; a grandson, William Edward Henley; sisters, Rosa Lou Smith, Fannie Norman and Winona Kirkpatrick; brothers, Aaron, Charles and Harold Jeanneret as well as her husbands, Basil Rice and Lewis Blevins.
Betty is survived by her daughter, Pamela Karr and husband Nick of Summersville and Wayne Smith of Summersville. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.
