Mrs. Betty Heleman

Services for Mrs. Betty Sue Robinson Heleman, 88 of Austin, Texas will be 11:00 a.m., Thursday, December 17, 2015 in the Hawthorn Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow in Odd Fellows Cemetery under the direction of Hawthorn Funeral Home. Visitation will be Wednesday, December 16, 2015 from 6 - 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Betty Sue Robinson Heleman died peacefully Sunday, December 13, 2015, in Austin after a year-long illness. She was the beloved Mother of Donna Kay Walton Moore and husband James W. Moore, Mary Suzanne Walton Basore and husband David M. Basore and John Sterling Heleman. Her dear grandsons and their families are her proud legacy. They are grandson Matt Benedict Foster and wife Gina, grandson William Travis Foster and grandson Michael James Moore. Matt’s children, who loved their Great Grammy, are Katelyn Marie, Emily Suzanne and William Christopher Foster. Betty was preceded in death by her beloved husband Herbert William Heleman; her parents Nicholas Crudden Robinson and Mattie Gillian Boynton Robinson; and her sister Mary Robinson Thomas. Her first husband Joseph Benedict Walton preceded her many years ago. Betty loved and felt very close to her first cousins, whom she called her “first family.” Several have preceded her; those surviving are Fred Lee Boynton, Jr., Frances Lee Waska, Jane Robinson Walker, William Rhone and John S. Rhone. Betty was born March 24, 1927 in McAllen, Texas. Her father was a decorated gunnery sergeant in the United States Marine Corps in World War I. He was awarded the croix de guerre by the French government for valor in the series of battles defending Paris. After strenuous and lengthy efforts by his granddaughter Suzanne, he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Betty received that medal on his behalf last December. His death ultimately resulted from battle injuries. After his passing Betty, her Mother and her sister Mary lived briefly in Carthage, Texas near her Mother’s family. Betty loved Carthage and her East Texas roots. She will now be at rest with Herb at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Carthage following the funeral at Hawthorn Funeral Home Thursday, December 17 at 11 a.m. A light luncheon will follow in the parlor at the First United Methodist Church of Carthage. Herb and Betty had a strong, enduring and happy marriage of fifty years before Herb’s passing in 2006. She has missed him every day and we rejoice that they are reunited. Betty saved for the family’s first vacation trip to the YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park, Colorado, in 1956, and the family has spent many happy times there over the years. They hiked the Bear Lake and Cub Lake trails in Rocky Mountain National Park, but Betty also enjoyed the “hikes” to the gift shops and art galleries of Elkhorn Avenue! The route to “Estes” invariably went through Clayton, New Mexico with a lunch stop at La Paloma Blanca. They frequently travelled to Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico. Betty and Herb loved the Four Corners Region of the United States, and were interested in and well informed about the Native Americans of this area. She read and re-read all the novels of Tony Hillerman based in the Southwest. Betty loved, always, to travel back to East Texas, and nearer to home, enjoyed Salado, and especially, the Riverwalk area of San Antonio. She celebrated several memorable birthdays in her ‘80’s with family at the famous La Mansion Hotel on the Riverwalk. Her very great interest in genealogy and in her Boynton ancestor Moses Boynton led to her membership in the Thankful Hubbard Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In more recent history, her great-grandfather Col. Amos Boynton served as a sharpshooter in the Army of the Confederate States of America under General Robert E. Lee. The Austin Woman’s Club and the Barton Hills Garden Club were two of Betty’s club affiliations and she spent interesting hours at their programs. Betty took so much pride in her children and grandsons, and her great-grandchildren were a delight. During this final illness, she loved and proudly displayed their get-well notes and drawings. Her three children were her strength and support during this past year, and in return she never flagged in her struggle to return to good health. She gave her best effort, and her children and family are proud of her beyond measure. Her memory will be cherished, her sage advice remembered, and we will bask in her love always.

Tributes

Mrs. Betty Heleman

March 24, 1927 - December 13, 2015