Betty Jo O’Brien Barker, 92, of Elizabethton, passed away Sunday, September 22, 2019, at Sycamore Shoals Hospital following a brief illness. She was born on October 29, 1926, in Lamont, Fla. Her parents moved to Elizabethton when she was two months old and she had resided in Elizabethton since that time. She was the daughter of the late Edward Joseph “Joe” and Anna Grace Snyder O’Brien. Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Sam M. Barker, in 2008; her daughter-in-law, Marilynn Pless Barker, in 2014; two sisters-in-law, Evalyn B. Brower and Alice R. Barker; a brother-in-law, Ernest C. Barker; and several beloved aunts, uncles and cousins.
She was a lifelong and longest-tenured member of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church where she served faithfully with the Ladies Guild.
Betty was a 1944 graduate of Elizabethton High School and had worked for American Bemberg Corporation in the payroll department from 1944 until 1953, when she and her husband Sam started their family.
She was a former member of the Friends of the Library and the Elizabethton Civic Club for many years, the Birthday Club, was an avid bridge player, and a devoted Notre Dame fan.
Those left to cherish her memory include a son, Richard Barker and his girlfriend Marcia Cadle; a daughter, Debbie Barker Alexander and her husband Joe Alexander; a special cousin, Sue Roberson Morrell of Abingdon, Va.; a host of cousins along with current and former neighbors of Ferguson Avenue; and many special friends too numerous to mention.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, September 26, at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, 514 West C. Street, Elizabethton, with Father Dennis Kress and Deacon Rich Carner officiating. Music will be provided by Jeannie Walker, organist, and Mark and Vicki Sitter, vocalists. Active pallbearers will be Scott Morrell, Danny Slagle, Ed Slagle, Greg Bowers, John Bowers III, Leonard Febuary, Harry Ford, Brent Dugger, Richard Myers, Dr. David McNeely, Kenny Carter, Steve Baldwin, Gary Sparks, Jim Holmes, Bill Greene and Joe Evans. Interment will follow the service in the Crown section of Happy Valley Memorial Park. The family will receive friends Wednesday, September 25, from 4 until 7 p.m. in the Fireside Room of the funeral home, and other times at the residence. The family extends a special thank you to the nurses and physicians of the Emergency Room and the third floor of Sycamore Shoals Hospital. Words of sympathy and encouragement may be sent to the family at www.tetrickfuneralhome.com .
Tetrick Funeral Home, Riverside Chapel of Elizabethton, (423-542-2232), is serving the family of Betty Jo O’Brien Barker.