Betty Jane McCarl passed away on July 18, 2022 in Houston, Texas, just before her 95 ^th birthday.  She lived a long life and loved her hometown of Quincy, Illinois, as much as she loved being an honorary Texan.  Betty was born on August 24, 1927, in St. Louis, Missouri, and moved as a young child with her family to Quincy.  She spent some of her married life in Chicago, Illinois and ultimately retired to Houston, Texas.  She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, an Episcopalian, a Boy Scouts of America staff member, and a lifelong volunteer at numerous organizations.  She loved fresh Mississippi catfish, the St. Louis Cardinals, Freebirds Burritos, Jeopardy, chocolate covered cherries, her cell phone, tootsie rolls, knitting/crochet/cross-stitch, and the University of Texas Longhorns.   She didn't slow down until the last few years and never looked her age.

Betty was predeceased by her son, Carlton "Scott" McCarl, Jr., her parents Joseph and Gertrude (Klauka) Snarzyk, sister Mary (Snarzyk) Kelly, and nephew Robert Kelly.  She leaves behind her son David J. McCarl, daughter-in-law Sally McCarl (Scott), nephew Brian Kelly, and niece Susan (Kelly) Masten.  She also leaves behind five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, including Megan (McCarl) Costanza (Andrew), Marty McCarl (Tegan), David N. McCarl (Karen), Cory McCarl, and Justin McCarl (Alicia), as well as Grace and Olivia Costanza (Megan) and Ulric and Arlo McCarl (Justin).

Betty graduated from high school in Quincy in 1945 and attended secretarial college.  She was a Certified Professional Secretary and held office as President of her local chapter. She worked for many years at Harris Corporation in Quincy, Illinois.  Her organization and attention to detail applied to most parts of her life; her photo albums, complete with captions, dates, and family trees, are a great legacy for her family.  She loved genealogy and enjoyed communicating with her extended family via email and on Facebook.

Betty was known as Grandma, Memaw, and Granny to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She was a prolific crafter and passed on her love of painting ceramics, knitting, bracelet making, cake decorating, and more.  Summers at her house always included crafts and root beer floats.  She made amazing birthday cakes and she loved board games.  She kept up with technology to communicate with her grandkids; she loved to email, then learned Facebook, and in her 80s mastered texting.  She continued to learn the hip kid crafts and taught great-granddaughter, Grace, her skills.  No McCarl house is untouched by her ceramics (check the bottoms for BJM and the year!) and crochet work (doilies, snowflakes, tablecloths). She was known for knitting beautiful, dainty baby sweaters which were always a hit at baby showers.  She received an award of recognition from Houston Methodist Hospital for knitting baby hats for infants in NICU.

Betty served for many years in the Sam Houston Area Council of Boy Scouts of America.   She was a Unit Commissioner, a Chartered Organization Representative, Roundtable Staff, and served on the Pack Committee for Pack 1614.  She loved the pinewood derby, and her photo albums are filled with action shots of her sons and grandsons racing their homemade cars in their respective Boy Scout Packs.

Betty joined the Episcopal Church via Confirmation at age 25 in Chicago, Illinois, at The Redeemer Church.  Later, she was a member of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Cypress, Texas, and participated in many church groups and volunteer activities.  She shared her knitting, sewing, and baking skills, and for years was found working in the Tea Room at the Fall Gift Market.

Betty was a long-time member of the Order of the Eastern Star and embodied the goal of contributing her time and talents to charity.  Her father was a member of the Masonic Herman Lodge 39 A.F. & A.M. in Quincy (Joseph Snarzyk) and her parents-in-law from her marriage to Carlton McCarl, Sr. were both Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star leaders (David and Thelma McCarl).  The Order of the Eastern Star will perform her funeral ceremony.

The elephant in the obituary is that as much as Betty gave of her talents generously, she also gave of her razor-sharp tongue.  She never met an opinion she didn't share, and she rarely held back her thoughts.  She could be very tough on people, and even tougher on the people she loved.  But she never gave up trying to express her love.  As a grandmother she showed her love through crafting, serving as a chauffeur, making baked goods, sending care packages to college, and forwarding funny emails.  As she aged, she hugged more, said "I love you" more, and learned to text bitmojis.  She was always a strong, independent woman – traits she passed on to her only granddaughter, Megan, and traits exhibited in all her grandsons' wives: Tegan, Alicia, and Karen.

A visitation and service will be held at Klein Funeral Home in Tomball, Texas on Saturday, August 20, 2022.  Visitation begins at 12:00pm and the Order of the Eastern Star will perform a short funeral ceremony at 1:30pm.  Cremation has been accorded to Betty and her ashes will be spread near the Grand Canyon, where she always wished to visit.

Betty was a survivor of breast, uterine, and kidney cancer.  In 2015 her son, Scott, succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 61.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you donate to the American Cancer Society in Scott or Betty's name. www.cancer.org