Betty Jean Baxter passed away on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. She was 79.

Betty was born and raised in Douglas, Arizona. Her father, now deceased, was Paul Joe Price and her mother, also deceased was Minnie Mae Hughes Price. Having been raised in a border town, Betty learned to speak Spanish fluently.

She entered the workforce in fashion in Douglas, Arizona at Vernon’s Department Store. She worked her way up through the ranks and became a fashion buyer. She married Vernon Douglas Baxter in 1961 and moved to Los Angeles, California. Betty worked many years in the fashion world for Federated Department Stores, Lane Bryant, and travelled and opened new stores and did the hiring for Motherhood Maternity. She later settled in for a managerial position with May Company Department stores in Los Angeles.

In 1972 Betty and her husband moved from Los Angeles to Douglas, Arizona. Mr. Baxter opened his own plumbing company, and Betty, after a short return to Vernon’s Department Store , retired and helped with dispatching and bookkeeping for their plumbing business.

After Betty’s husband passed away in 1996, she moved to Tucson, but she began to have health issues. That is when her step-daughter, Cheryl Lane moved Betty to Florence, Alabama in 2003.

Betty loved her Grandsons, Jesse Lane and Jeff Dequattro, and she was very proud of her son-in-law, Mike Lane.

In her day, Betty was the “life of the party” always full of funny stories and had a way with young children. Her family will miss her. A memorial service was conducted in the Chapel of Greenview Funeral home Monday, October 22, 2012 at 10 a.m. with the Rev. Mike Pope of the First United Methodist Church officiating.

Friends may visit with the family from 9 a.m. until service time. An online guestbook may be viewed and signed at greenviewmemorial.com. Arrangements by Greenview Funeral Home.