Betty Joe Tate

Betty Joe Tate of Batesville, formerly of Brinkley, passed away on May 11 at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro at the age of 74. She was born July 19, 1950 in Brinkley to William Cooper and Velma (Carnett) Strickland. She attended Brinkley School. She married her high school sweetheart, Dennis Tate on March 22, 1968. They raised two daughters and were married for 45 years before Dennis passed away in December of 2013.
Betty Joe retired as an employee of the Brinkley School District in 2014. After retirement, she moved to Batesville to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren. She was a member of The Compass Church in Batesville and enjoyed gardening, watching women sports, and the Dallas Cowboys.
She was preceded in death by her parents; an infant daughter, Tina Marie Tate; her brothers, Larry Strickland, Jerry Strickland, and Louis Strickland; and a sister, Rolene Baxter. Survivors are her daughters, Deborah (Ronald) Richardson of Batesville and Lisa (Scott) Foster of Naylor, Mo.; a brother, W.C. Strickland of Grady; sisters, Helen (Bud) Horn of Brinkley, Dorothy Smith of Jonesboro, Marla (Mike) Walker of Beebe, Carla Clay of Ward, and Paula (Donald) Clark of Brinkley; her grandchildren, Alen (Mindy) Richardson of Collierville, Tenn., Hannah (Devin) Ramsey of Pleasant Plains, Gunnar (McKeni) Osborne of Batesville, Katy (Tyler) Inloes of Cave City, Walker Osborne of Batesville, Ashlyn Foster of Springfield, Mo., Natalie Foster of Columbia, Mo., and Makenna Foster of Naylor, Mo.; nine great-grandchildren, Norman, Reagan, Ruby, Charlie Jo, Alyson, Carter, Isaiah, OIliver, and Atlas; along with several nieces, nephews and her dog, Landry.
Funeral services were at Bob Neal and Sons Funeral Home in Brinkley Thursday, May 15 with internment at Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Brinkley. Pallbearers were Alen Richardson, Gunnar Osborne, Devin Ramsey, Tyler Inloes, Walker Osborne, Chris Dixon and Carson Leroux.