Bettie Bickley

On the morning of April 27, 2020, in Pasadena, TX, 86-years young, Bettie D. Bickley gained her wings to be with the Lord after a 2-year battle of various ailments. Although her body eventually grew tired, she was ALWAYS up for a fight!\r\n\r\nBettie was born in the fall of 1933 as the second child of 5 children to Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Boyte in Corsicana, TX. In 1955, she married the love of her life, George W. Bickley, and they made a home in Pasadena, TX while both working in the Houston area until retiring to Kerr County, TX.\r\n\r\nBettie, or "LuLu", as some of her family would affectionately call her, was always hard-working and took pride in all of the jobs she had at home and in the business world while continuing to put smiles on many faces with her amazing sense of humor. This woman with only a high school diploma, went on to become a computer programmer and systems analyst for a major oil company. She started as a keypunch operator back in the 1960's and told her employer, when they needed an operator for the computer room, that she would take the job if they showed her how to run every machine in that room, and she did exactly that!\r\n\r\nIn the 1970's, Bettie achieved certification and became a Certified Data Processor or CDP. In the 1980's, she became the first female President of the Houston Chapter of DPMA (Data Processing Management Association). During her tenure as President, she would have the opportunity to meet her idol, the late Rear Admiral Grace Hopper of the United States Navy who was an innovative woman pioneer in computer programming. Bettie's working career in the 1970's through the early 1990's proved that women could indeed make it in a man's world.\r\n\r\nBettie is preceded in death by her mother and father, her husband, George in 2012, her cousin-in-law, friend and running buddy, Nancy Smith in 2018; and her brother, Billy Ray in 2019. Survivors include her daughter, Sue E. Bickley of La Porte, TX; her honorary granddaughter, Kassie Benavidez of Deer Park, TX; her brother, Harold Boyte and wife, Rene of Elizabeth, CO; her sister, Martha Foster of Pearland, TX; her sister-in-law, Barbara Boyte of Flagstaff, AZ; her sister, Barbara Ann Boyte of Beaumont, TX; and brother-in-law, Norman Bickley of Magnolia, TX. In addition, Bettie leaves behind an aunt, numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.\r\n\r\nArrangements are as follows:\r\n\r\nVisitation to be held at Grimes Funeral Chapel (830-257-4544) located at 728 Jefferson, Kerrville, TX 78028, from 11 am - 1 pm, Saturday, May 2, 2020.\r\n\r\nFollowing the visitation, a graveside service will be held at 2 pm at Glen Rest Cemetery located on State Hwy 27, Kerrville, TX 78208 (right before Schreiner University).\r\n\r\nTo comply with the new social-distancing guidelines, the funeral home reports that there may be a limitation of 10 people at a time allowed into the visitation area.\r\n\r\nIn lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations can be made to the charity of your choice in Bettie Bickley's honor.\r\n