Bettie Jane Allgood Murray entered into eternal life with the Lord on Thursday, August 20, at age 93.
Born on November 27, 1932, in Richmond, Virginia, during the Great Depression, she was named after her mother’s Sunday School teacher.
After moving to Yorktown, Virginia, in December 1941 at age nine, she committed her life to Jesus and wanted to be baptized. Learning of the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, she met with her pastor in his home and was baptized that evening.
She lived in Yorktown for five years during World War II, where her father worked in the Naval Mine Depot. After the War, her family moved to Alabama, where Bettie graduated from Springville High School. After three semesters at Jacksonville State, she began working at the Anniston Army Ordnance Depot, where she carpooled with her future husband, Charles Murray.
During that season, the Mayor of Springville asked her to represent the town in the Maid of Cotton Contest for St. Clair County. Knowing Charles to be a great dancer, she asked him to be her escort. The rest is history. They married in 1952 and enjoyed 66 years together before his passing on November 26, 2017.
In 1956, Charles and Bettie moved to Huntsville, where they both worked for the Army Missile Command. A year later, she transferred to NASA, where she would work as a secretary in the Executive Office of Dr. Wernher von Braun. In 1962, she became the first woman at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center to receive the Sustained Superior Performance Award for her work, which Dr. von Braun presented to her.
Bettie studied creative writing under Herb Frances at the University of Alabama Huntsville. A gifted writer, she published her short stories in the 1970s in magazines such as Redbook, Harper’s, and several literary publications. She also wrote a series of lessons for first and second grade Sunday School children, teachers, and parents, published by the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Her proudest literary achievement, however, was a work she published in 2018 with the help of her granddaughters, Mary Stuart, Madeline, Kingsley, and Sara Cate—Jump Rope Rhymes: From America, England and France.
While working at NASA at the age of 30, she was inspired to preserve the jump rope rhymes of her childhood. She not only recorded the rhymes she remembered, but also wrote to schools across the U.S., England, and France, asking children to share their jump rope verses. Fifty-three years later, she shared her collection with her granddaughters, who immediately became enthusiastic about illustrating the rhymes and making a book.
Bettie’s home was an anchor for her family–whether it was enjoying a homemade dessert, sitting on the back porch swing drinking lemonade, or admiring the flowers in her well-loved yard. She created a haven on Penn Street. She was a wise, godly, creative, and encouraging wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend to many. She will be deeply missed.
Bettie is survived by her three sons, Charles Robin Murray (Amanda) and children Ben and Miranda, Retired Brigadier General Tom Murray (Gwen) and children (U.S. Army Captain) Garrett (Marisol) and Madeline, and John Murray (Barbara) and children Andrew, Mary Stuart, Kingsley, and Sara Cate and great-grandson Crewe. She is also survived by two nieces, Sara Beth Blair and Vivian Ann Clack.
Bettie was preceded in death by her husband, Charles; sister, Clemmie Rhea; and niece, Suellen Brown.
Services will be held at Southwood Presbyterian Church, 1000 Carl T. Jones Dr., Huntsville, AL, on Saturday, September 5. Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. followed by the Service at 2 p.m.
Flowers are welcome, or donations may be made in Bettie’s memory to Southwood Presbyterian Church.
