Obituary of Betty Bagwell

DOB 03/24/1947 DOD 04/20/2025 Written and provided by family. Our mother, Betty Jean Bagwell, was born on March 24, 1947, in Winner, SD, to Harry William Henneman and Fern Alice Rash Henneman. She passed peacefully in her sleep during the early hours of Easter day, April 20, 2025, at the age of 78. Mom was the 4th of 5 children, sandwiched between her older sister, Patricia, and her little sister, Beverly. Her older brothers are Alfred and Harry, Jr., who passed in 1996. Mom was raised with her siblings in South Dakota until about 1955, when they followed the migration of folks who moved from the Midwest states to the dust bowl of Washington state, first settling in the Royal Slope area. Mom married our dad, William H., on October 2, 1965. They began their adventure in various towns in the area before finally settling in Othello. Mom was a housewife and stay-at-home mom until our youngest sister went off to school. She went to work for The Printers in 1979 and moved to the Othello Outlook as the Advertising Editor until the mid-2000s. Mom also enjoyed taking census door-to-door periodically throughout the years. Mom’s favorite “job” and the one she is most well known for is seamstress. Mom mended and tailored for Magoteaux’s Men’s Store as well as various dry cleaners in the area. Out of their home though, Mom made hundreds of dresses for women in the community – wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses, Rainbow dresses, Junior Miss dresses, dresses for all occasions. Eventually, mom’s love of sewing evolved into making quilts for EVERYONE. She also taught quilt-making classes through the Community Schools for many, many years. Mom and Dad raised 5 kids of whom they were very proud. Those 5 children eventually married and blessed them with fifteen grandchildren as well as several bonus grandchildren. Many of those grandchildren have gone on to add more blessings to our family with even more to come. If mom were here, she’d tell you precisely how many. Mom leaves behind her children, Kristine and Terry, Kimberly and Bob, Donnie and Jennifer and Robyn and Jamey; her grandchildren, Adam, Brian, Chad, Billy, Rickiesha, Joshua, Zachary, Ryan, Anthony, Blake, Teddy, Breanna, Stefannie, Austin and finally, Madisyn, along with their spouses. She is also survived by her brother, Al, and his wife, Carol; her sisters Pat and Bev and her husband, Jerry as well as numerous nieces and nephews and their families. Mom was preceded in death by her husband, Bill Bagwell, her son, George Bagwell aka Les, as well as her parents and brother. It’s difficult to some up the life of your 78-year-old mother in a few short paragraphs, a handful of songs, a hundred photos and an hour of ceremony. Our mom was more than “just” our mom. She was a seamstress, a bowler, a lap counter, a Yahtzee player, a Bingo player, a census taker, a scorekeeper, a friend, a crafter, a diabetic, a TOPS member, a COVID survivor, a family historian, a wife, a sister, a daughter, a daughter-in- law, a mother-in-law, an aunt, a great-aunt, a grandmother and a great-grandmother. She was also a blessing to each and every one of us. Funeral services will be held on Friday, May 2, 2025, at 10 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 715 E. Scootney St., Othello, WA. Burial to follow at Bess Hampton Memorial Gardens.