Betty Lou Walls' Obituary
Strong. Independent. Adventurous. Stubborn.
These are a few of the words that come to mind when we think of our mom, Betty Lou Walls. She was born on July 26, 1935, in Belton, Texas. The eighth of 11, born to Jesse L. Walls and Alma B. Walls nee Hicks, that would become our crazy, big, extended family. From the time she was a small girl, barefoot and – yes – a little dirty from playing outside, she marched to the beat of her own drum. She lived life on her own terms, often shunning what she considered unworthy ways to spend her time, for example celebrating her birthdays. Instead, she celebrated life by living it to its fullest and sharing her favorite pastimes with her family and friends: dancing, Latin Music, classical guitar, painting, fishing, hiking, traveling, and researching the colorful history of her family she tracked back to the Lafitte’s and beyond.
Betty moved with her family to Houston while she was still young, where she attended Jeff Davis High School, graduating in the Class of 1953. From there, she become an X-Ray tech – a new and upcoming field in the 50’s – in the new Houston Medical Center where she was sponsored by Hermann Hospital to complete her training. And, once she was ready to enter the workforce, her best friend, Claudette, wrote her encouraging her to move from Houston to El Paso, where “the men were handsome and really knew how to dance!”
She did move to El Paso, met, danced with, and married Felix Chavez, Jr. and had two children, Felix Chavez III and Pamela Alma Michelle Rosen nee Chavez. During her time in El Paso, she balanced work, including continuing her certification with latest MRI technology trends, with raising a family, learning Classical guitar, dancing at the Shinto Dance Club, staying active in the United Methodist Church singles group, raising and racing greyhounds for a short spell, and making time to visit family in Texas, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Colorado generally anchored by a river rafting trip, cliff dwelling hike, or fishing. She was even caught mid-paddle through Class IV rapids on the Upper Rio Grande River near Taos, New Mexico on a travel magazine cover.
She began traveling once she neared retirement and beyond with stops in Sydney, Australia, The Great Barrier Reef, Hawaiian cruises, Costa Rica, nearly all the islands in the Caribbean, Spain, Cozumel, Belize, Alaska, and Yellowstone National Park. She also spent a lot of time fishing in Galveston, Lake Travis, along the Intercoastal Waterway from Lafayette to Galveston, and – most famously – the Turks and Caicos trip where food needs had been mis-calculated and we had to fish to eat and battle unexpected mosquito swarms.
When her grandchildren arrived, Damon Nash White and Elijah Felix Chavez Rosen, ten years apart, she spent a lot of time with each boy ensuring they knew how to fish and enjoy the outdoors. She moved back to the Houston area, La Porte, shortly after Tropical Storm Alison – where she lost a car in her daughter’s driveway – and made her home for nearly 30 years ‘til the end of her life.
Betty departed life the way she lived it. On her own terms. She will be celebrated, loved, and missed by her surviving family, sister, Annette Bates (and Marc Bates), brother Wayne Walls (and Nancy Walls), son Felix Chavez III (and Norma Contreras), daughter Pamela Alma Michelle Chavez Rosen (and Michael Rosen) and grandsons, Damon Nash White and Elijah Felix Chavez Rosen.
We fish with you in our hearts.
Per her wishes, there will not be a memorial service, but she will be interred in an artificial reef block and deployed off the coast of Galveston later this fall through Eternal Reefs.
In lieu of flowers, donations to help everyone fish with those they love in their hearts can be made to Coastal Conservation Association, 6919 Portwest Dr., Suite 100, Houston, Texas 77024, or at www.joincca.org.
What’s your fondest memory of Betty?
What’s a lesson you learned from Betty?
Share a story where Betty's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Betty you’ll never forget.
How did Betty make you smile?