Obituary of Betty Jo Bryant

Azle – Betty Jo Bryant, 90, retired bookkeeper, died Monday, March 2, 2019. Betty was a loving wife, sister, aunt and animal lover. She will be missed more than she could ever know.Betty Jo Nix was born in Spur, Texas, May 15, 1928, the youngest of four children of Omer Newton Nix and Farrah Valentine Nix. She was a child of the Great Depression. Her brother Bill Nix remembers Betty tagging along with him at the age of two or three to pick cotton on her uncle’s land outside of Lamesa in West Texas, the first indication of just how strong she was. As the two youngest children of four, she and Bill stuck together. She later followed him down the aisle at church to accept Jesus Christ as her savior. When Bill got out of the Army at the end of World War II, the first place he went was to the five and dime store where Betty worked. She remembered he surprised her and picked her up and twirled her around in the middle of the store.Betty graduated from Spur High School and later moved to Fort Worth to work and go to business school — followed by other members of her family. While she was in Fort Worth, she attended modeling school — an endeavor that led to her love of fashion.She met the love of her life at a bowling alley in Fort Worth. Hugh C. Bryant was working as an airplane mechanic at Convair when he stood in for one of his co-workers on a bowling date with Betty. That date started a romance that led to a 62-year marriage.For more than 20 years, Betty and Hugh lived on the shores of Eagle Mountain Lake, where they entertained nieces and nephews with swimming, boating and water skiing.They loved their nieces and nephews — who considered them the “cool aunt and uncle” — giving them not only their time but helping many of them in other ways. She helped raise her oldest niece and nephew and was a confidante to her younger nieces and nephews. She also was a caregiver to her mother for many years.Betty and Hugh later built a house on property near Azle, doing most of the finishing work themselves. Their home became a sanctuary not only for them but for relatives and friends — and the animals that they rescued. They “rescued” one of their most-loved dogs — Tracy — from a man who was mistreating him — by stealing him!Betty was a true Southern lady. She made quilts and sewed and was a great cook and a welcome hostess. Her oldest nephew, Larry Holman, remembers a delicious cherry cobbler she made — with real cherries. Everyone looked forward to Christmas every year when Betty made Divinity, fudge, peanut patties and cookies. She hosted much-anticipated Christmas gatherings and other family get-togethers at her house.Betty also was a modern woman. She worked her way up to accounting manager at U.S. Steel. And one time she decided that she and Hugh needed a tractor for their property in Azle, so she went to the tractor dealer and bought it herself and put it in her name.Betty and her husband were longtime Dallas Cowboys season ticket holders during the Tom Landry years and even after Hugh’s death in 2016, she still enjoyed watching the team on TV.Betty and Hugh did not attend church, but they were very spiritual. They were both divorced when they married and not welcome in their Baptist and Catholic churches, respectively, at the time. So they held their own church — at home.