Wayne Lester Betts

Wayne Lester Betts, 96, of Cassville, MO, went to be with the Lord on Friday, December 27, 2024. He was born on December 4, 1928, in Hilliard, FL, to the late Howard Betts and Claribel Hearin Betts.

He attended Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, FL; Central Baptist College; Arkansas State Teacher’s College (UCA), Ole Miss, and Central Missouri University, at Warrensburg, MO. He was a Navy Veteran, Missionary Baptist Preacher/Pastor in Arkansas and Missouri and a high school art teacher in Cassville, MO for thirty-nine years. His hobbies included painting and various crafts, pottery, fly fishing and gardening. He was preceded in death by a son, Jerry Wayne Betts.

Wayne is survived by his wife of sixty-eight years, Carolyn Harper Betts; children, Jon (Debbie) Betts of Vidalia, LA, Don (Linda) Betts, of Greenbrier, AR, Mark (Gaye) Betts, of Decatur, AR, Randal (Jeannine) Betts, of Conway, AR, Leslie (David) Shofner, of Damascus, AR, and Loi “Michele” Betts of Clinton, AR; grandchildren, Bryan Betts, Scott Dupuis, Adam Betts, Eric Betts, Jeremy Betts, Andrew Betts, Tanner Betts, Aaron Betts, Nathan Betts, Claire (Betts) Gideon, Clayton Betts, Jonathan Shofner, Melissa (Shofner) Tuell, C.J. Hallmark, and Christopher Jordan Betts; twenty-two great grandchildren; sister, Wanda (Betts) (Clifford) Wellborn, of Winston-Salem, NC; and many other family members.

A visitation will be held from 6:00 – 8:00 pm on Monday, December 30, 2024, at Wilcox Family Funeral Home in Greenbrier, AR; and a graveside service will be held 11:00 a.m. Thursday, January 2, 2024, at Oakwood Cemetery in Hilliard, FL.