Betty Strong

Betty Peak Strong, 80, passed away on May 7, 2021. She was born on May 21, 1940 in San Antonio, Texas to Lee Otto Peak and Margaret (Mary) Rutledge.

Betty graduated from Pleasanton High School in 1957 at the age of seventeen and immediately went to work for Southwestern Bell Telephone. Betty married James (Jim) Taylor Strong on January 5, 1964 in San Antonio, Texas. While Jim was employed in the oil and gas industry, Betty and Jim traveled the world, and enjoyed every minute of it. In 1972, while living in Bahrain, and after being told they couldn’t have children, Betty found out she was pregnant. She traveled from Bahrain to Weslaco, shortly before giving birth, to live with Jim’s sister, Linda Mae and her family, and gave birth to their daughter, Stephanie, on October 10, 1972 in Harlingen, Texas. Shortly before the birth, Jim flew in from Bahrain to welcome his daughter.

Betty, Jim and Stephanie moved back to Bahrain for a time until Jim took a job in Scotland and the little family was off again to a new land and new opportunities. A few years later, when Jim was offered a job working in Nigeria, Betty put her foot down, as Betty often did, and Jim relented. Jim worked a rotating schedule in Nigeria for thirty days and was at home with Betty and Stephanie in Plano, Texas for thirty days. Betty got her real estate license and became a realtor in the booming suburb near Dallas. After several years, Betty and Jim decided it was time to return to Jim’s hometown of Skidmore, Texas where Betty continued her real estate career and Jim dabbled in several entrepreneurial interests.

Never being the couple to settle down, Jim and Betty decided to move to Betty’s hometown of San Antonio in 1986, where Jim rejoined the oil and gas industry, and Betty went back to work in the telecommunications industry. In 1990, Betty found out she had ovarian cancer, went through surgeries, treatment, and fully recovered. Stephanie was able to start and finish high school in San Antonio before she went off to Texas A&M University. Shortly thereafter, Betty and Jim moved to Klein, Texas, just north of Houston where he started his own oil and gas supply company and Betty volunteered at Houston Northwest Hospital. In 1996, Betty was diagnosed with oral cancer, and again, went through surgeries, treatment and fully recovered. In 1998, Stephanie gave birth to her first daughter Ashlyn, and Betty decided to be a full time, stay-at-home grandmother (Uma). But shortly after, Skidmore was calling their names, and Betty and Jim decided to buy the old convenience store across from the school in Skidmore and retire at their farm. They named the store after Jim (Papa) and both Betty and Jim put their heart and soul into the store. They loved and adored their employees, and Betty enjoyed planning all sorts of seasonal parties for them.

In 2003, when Stephanie’s daughter, Kaelyn, was born, Betty traveled to Klein, Texas frequently to care for Kaelyn and Ashlyn while Stephanie worked as a school administrator.

In 2007, Betty found out she had a half-sister. Her half-sister, Pauline, was born in England after World War II. Betty was so excited to know that she had a sister and talked with Pauline, who lives in Canada, frequently. During the summer of 2007, Stephanie and Betty flew to Florida to meet Pauline and her husband, Roy. Meeting Pauline was a momentous occasion.

In 2012, Jim and Betty found out that Jim had cancer, so they went to live with Stephanie, her husband, Wade, and their granddaughters, Ashlyn and Kaelyn.  Jim and Stephanie made many, many trips to M.D. Anderson for Jim’s treatment, while Betty stayed home and kept house, made meals, and chauffeured Ashlyn and Kaelyn to all their activities.

After Jim passed away in 2013, Betty permanently moved to Klein, Texas to live with Stephanie and her family. In 2015, Betty was again diagnosed with a second oral cancer. Being a twice survivor of cancer and tough as nails, Betty went through surgery and fully recovered. In the last years of her life, Betty enjoyed watching crime shows, reading, and caring for Stephanie, Wade, Ashlyn and Kaelyn, and of course, her two fur babies, Rosie and Luna.

Betty was a member of First United Methodist Church of Skidmore.

Visitation will be from 10:30-11:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 13, 2021 at Galloway & Sons Funeral Home Chapel.  The funeral service will follow at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. Edwin Wallek officiating. Interment will follow at Evergreen Cemetery in Skidmore.

Pallbearers will be David Baker, Will Carriger, David Clark, Billy Korczynski, Matthew Muschalek and Holdyn Shaw.

Honorary pallbearers will be George Baker, Wade Langner, Bill Lee, Larry Payne, Jack Peak, Jim Raven, and Jose Valdez.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Animal Defense League of Texas, 11300 Nacogdoches Rd., San Antonio, TX 78217.  https://adltexas.org/donation/