Betty Ruth Richie Gary, 89, of Vernon, Texas died on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, in Vernon, Texas.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 19, 2023, at 10:00 am at Sullivan Funeral Home Chapel with Mr. David Richie officiating.  Burial will follow at Wilbarger Memorial Park under the direction of Sullivan Funeral Home.

Betty was born August 25, 1933, in Lockett, Texas, to the late C. S. "Stan" and Etta Boyd Richie. She married Don Hulon Gary on June 30, 1954, in Vernon, Texas.

Betty loved her family, friends, and her chosen profession of nursing.  After graduating from high school in Harrold, Texas, she went to work as a nurse's aide at the former Vernon Clinic / Hospital in Vernon, Texas. She attended the first LVN classes there, also known as the "Elizabeth Norwood Class", graduating in 1954. At age seventeen, Ms. Norwood thought so much of her, she gave her a shift supervisor position. While raising her family she did private duty and office nursing as well as being the Director of Nursing at Taylor Nursing Homes.  In 1969, MHMR Vernon State Hospital opened, and Betty was the only nurse there. She graduated from Midwestern State University in 1973 with an Associate's Degree in Nursing and served twenty-five at Vernon State Hospital. Betty retired in 1993 to spend more time with "that precious granddaughter" and care for other family members.

Betty is survived by two daughters, Cheryl Gary (Calvin) and Lori Combs (Mark); three grandchildren, Alicia Beck (Clinton), Brody Combs (Tiffany), and Gay Lynn Gary (Agapito); nine great grandchildren, Mayson, Jace, Cooper, Hagen, Cullen, Adeline, Christian, J.B., and Olivia "Junebug"; one sister, Rita Bitz, and one brother, Ronnie Richie (Janice), as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Betty also leaves behind an extra brother, Freddie "the free loader" Conner, and great friends, Linda Patton and Judy Bellar.

Betty is preceded in death by her parents, husband, and her son, Mark Randel Gary who was killed at age nineteen in a motorcycle accident in 1976; one sister, Jo Ann Hall Dean, and two brothers, Larry Richie and Bob Richie.

Visitation will be held Friday, August 18, 2023, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Sullivan Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family request memorials be made to Beyond Faith Hospice or a favorite charity.