Betty Ruth (Roberson) Waggoner

Biography

Name at Birth Betty Ruth Roberson
Date of Birth Sep. 24, 1931
Place of Birth Decatur, Illinois
Date of Death June 26, 2025
Place of Death Cedarhurst Senior Living, Apt. #3, Springfield, IL
Place of Burial Sunset Memorial, Danville, IL
Burial Notice Betty Ruth Waggoner, 1931-2025

Parents

Father’s Name Calbert Lenard Roberson
Mother’s Name Wilma (Sinclair) Roberson
Parent’s Family Name Calbert and Wilma (Sinclair) Roberson Family
Stepfather’s Name William Nye Hambrecht
Stepfather’s Family Name William and Wilma (Sinclair) (Roberson) Hambrecht Family

Spouse

Husband’s Name Jerry Moulton Waggoner
Married Family Name Jerry and Betty (Roberson) Waggoner Family

Children

Son’s Name William Major Waggoner
Son’s Family Name William and Sharon (Sutton) Waggoner Family
Daughter’s Name Tracy Ann (Waggoner) Hopkins
Daughter’s Family Name Neal and Tracy (Waggoner) Hopkins Family

Grandparents

Father’s Parent’s Family Name Arkillis and Della (Layman) Roberson Family
Mother’s Parent’s Family Name James and Margaret (Burkett) Sinclair Family

Grandchildren Families

Grandson’s Family Name Philip and Amanda (Flynn-McMillan) Waggoner Family
Grandson’s Family Name Joshua and Kristina (Zoschke) Waggoner Family
Granddaughter’s Family Name Adam and Ashley (Leonardt) Hopkins Family
Granddaughter’s Family Name Nathan And Laura (Staskus) Hopkins Family

Cousins

Cousin’s Name Colleen Marie (Ryan) Funkhouser
Cousin’s Family Name Robert and Colleen (Ryan) Funkhouser Family

Betty’s Friend Joyce Elaine (Perkins) (Hopkins) Keener
Family Name Lawrence and Joyce (Perkins) (Hopkins) Keener Family

Places Where Betty Lived

1931-Sep-24 1932-Sep 600 S. Willow St., Decatur, IL
4-1/2 years lived at: 1220 Lincoln Park Drive, Decatur, IL
1 year lived at: 1000 West Decatur St., Decatur, IL
3 years lived at: 453 S. Hayworth, Decatur, IL
4 years lived at: 1281 W. Wood St., Decatur, IL
2 years lived at: 1244 W. Wood St., Decatur, IL
3 years lived at: 1029 E. Cleveland, Decatur, IL
1950-May to 1950-Oct Betty’s Apartment, 1088 W. Wood St., Decatur, IL
1950-Oct to 1951-Mar (Wilma and Bill H.) 759 South 19th St, Decatur, IL

while Jerry was training at Great Lakes Naval Base

1951-Mar to 1951-Nov 1420 B Street, San Diego, CA
1951-Nov to 1952-Feb Mehdia Beach, Morocco, Africa
1952-Feb to 1954-Jun 15 Rue Lamartine, Port Lyautey, Morocco, Africa
1954-Jun to 1955-Oct 1315 W. Wood St., Decatur, IL

while Jerry was deployed in Kwajalein

1955-Oct to 1956-Aug Route 8, Box 786B, Pinecrest Gardens, Charleston SC
1956-Aug to 1957-Oct Route 8, Box 746, Charleston, SC
1957-Oct to 1958-Jul 309 Plum, Danville, IL
1958-Jul to 1973-Jun 1202 E Williams, Danville IL
1973-Jun to 1995-Nov P.O. Box 206, Rt. 63, West Lebanon, IN
1995-Nov to 1996-Jan Lived with Joyce Keener, 204 Edwards St., Danville, IL
1996-Jan to 2006-Nov 415 Old State Road 28 E, Williamsport, IN
2006-Nov to 2022-Aug 5408 Manhattan Drive, Springfield, Illinois
2022-Aug - Present Apt #3, Cedarhurst Senior Living 3520 Old Jacksonville Road, Springfield, Illinois

Education

Grades 1-6 Oakland School, Decatur, IL
Grades 7-9 Woodrow Wilson Jr. High, Decatur, IL
Grades 10-12 Decatur High School, Decatur, IL
1949 HS Graduation, with emphasis on business courses,

shorthand, typing, and bookkeeping

Employment History
1945 Barnfield Pharmacy, Decatur, IL
1947 The Farm Restaurant, Decatur, IL
1948 Gebhart Gushard Department Store
1949-06 to 1950-06 Spencer Kellogg & Sons, Decatur, IL
1950-06 to 1951-03 Wabash Railroad, Decatur, IL
1951-03 to 1951-11 Lions Clothing Co., San Diego, CA
1951-11 to 1952-02 J.L. Simmons Construction Co., Decatur, IL
1954-07 to 1955-08 Mississippi Valley Structural Steel Co., Decatur, IL
1959-10 to 1971-07-16 General Electric Ballast Department, Danville, IL
1971-07-26 to 1982-11-08 Hyster Company, Danville, IL

Personal History

In October 2024, my sister Tracy Hopkins told me a story about our mother. Betty. Betty told Tracy that she once pretended to have a cigarette in her hand while a Calbert and Wilma Roberson family picture was being taken. Take note of the position of Betty’s right hand and the smile on her face in that picture. I always wondered why Betty’s hand was in such an ‘odd’ position and I thought her smile was a bit ‘devious’. Now I know .

Betty’s future husband, Jerry Waggoner, enrolled in Milliken University in Decatur Illinois in the fall of 1949 at the age of 19 but dropped out after his first year because he couldn’t complete the Chemistry courses. It was there in Decatur where he met Betty Ruth Roberson.

The Korean war broke out in June of 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea with Russian tanks, and the US came to South Korea’s aid. Jerry enlisted in the US Navy for active duty on Dec. 9, 1950, and began his military training in at the Great Lakes Training Center and continued his training in San Diego. Jerry and Betty were married in San Diego on March 23, 1951.

Shortly afterwards, Jerry was ordered to deploy to the U.S. Naval Base in the coastal city of Port Lyautey, located a few miles north of Rabat, the capital city of the country Morocco, in the Northwest corner of Africa. Port Lyautey was renamed Kenitra in 1956.

After Jerry left San Diego, Betty returned to Decatur and worked for a while. But she wanted to be with her husband. Jerry found a way to get her to Africa. With all her belongings in two large chests, she rode a train to New York and then hitched a ride on a US Army military transport ship bound for Casablanca called the USS General H.F. Hodges. It took 8-9 days to cross the North Atlantic Ocean. Military personnel bunked on the upper deck of the ship while women passengers slept on the lower deck. Betty said her rescue boat was the second one on the left on the side of the ship. The ship swelled and rocked back and forth with waves ten feet tall! Betty made this journey by herself when she was just 20 years old! Imagine what it would be like traveling on a huge ship like this across the Atlantic Ocean all by yourself when you are twenty? Betty is a very brave woman indeed.

Betty and Jerry first lived in a small beach house in an area called Mehdia Beach. Later on, Betty and Jerry lived in a house in Port Lyautey where she gave birth to William Waggoner in Rabat Morocco at a U.S. Air Force base hospital. In June of 1954 Jerry received new orders, and the family left Africa and flew to Maine on a Navy transport plane. From there, they rode a train to Decatur Illinois and found a small apartment for Betty and Bill to live in while Jerry reported for duty at the Kwajalein Atoll Island, part of the Marshall Islands in the North Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and China, on the other side of the globe.

In 1956, Betty gave birth to her second child, Tracy Waggoner, while Jerry was deployed in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1957, Jerry retired from active duty and the family moved to Danville Illinois. Betty worked for twenty-two years at the General Electric and Hyster companies in Danville to support the financial needs of a growing family. She was an Executive Secretary at both companies and was well liked and respected.

Betty had a 1967 Mustang at the time when Bill turned 16 and taught Bill how to Drive. She would have Bill drive through the neighborhoods in the area where we lived. Dad didn’t want the job and let her teach him.

Betty was Jerry’s caregiver when he became ill with dementia and developed heart failure and started falling repeatedly and broke his hip. She was his Power of Attorney for Health care when he entered nursing care at Regency Care until he passed away.

In August, 2022, Betty fell and broke her hip. Ultimately this led to her needing assisted living, and she moved into Cedarhurst Senior Living in September 2022. Bill became her Power of Attorney for Health and Property and supported her needs while she stayed at Cedarhurst.