Betty Ann Murrah 

My Mother, My Mentor

 My mother was one of those people who others confided in and leaned on. She was whip smart, no nonsense and could read someone from ten paces before they knew what was happening. This served her well as life presented its challenges.

Elizabeth Ann Mims was born in 1925, just before the Depression hit. She grew up learning the important lessons of helping others and banding together as a community. Her two brothers served in WWII, the oldest one flying the lead plane on D-Day. The other brother was an intelligence officer in North Africa, shot off his horse and survived by the grace of a native clan who nursed him back to health.

Betty’s folks were not the faint-hearted kind. They knew the value of a good day’s work and had the grit to face the hard times and the good humor to see ahead to a better day.

Back in her day, kids graduated from high school at the tender age of 16. Betty did the same as the valedictorian of Miller County High and went on to study at Andrew College about an hour away in Cuthbert, GA. She did two important things when she turned 18 – she graduated from Andrew (a two-year college) and she married her sweetheart, Clifford Jones.

They settled and had a family (my brother first and then me). My father was one of the largest farmers in the area, not because he owned huge amounts of land, but because he would farm any land he could relegate to sow. He worked very hard and was also the star of the local theater group’s plays every year. He taught every high schooler who wanted to learn how to water ski in the summers. He was quite the bon vivant.

But, in 1961, when my mother was just 35, my father was killed at age 37 in a farm accident. What was she to do? There were two children to raise, a farm to run and no more Clifford.

But daddy had done something very timely just a few months before his tragic death. A friend who was new to the insurance business talked him into reluctantly buying a $10,000 life policy.

This insurance policy became my mother’s version of a Jeannette Rankin Scholarship. Betty was able to go back to school, get her degree in Education and secure a teacher’s certification. She chose this profession so that she could be home with us kids in the summers.

She taught 5^th grade for several years and then math and science in middle school. But, she worked with older kids, she saw that many were struggling with various issues that were impeding their success. The school in rural South Georgia had no counselor.

It was then that she decided to go back to school to get her Master’s in Counseling. And, after not too many more years, she went on to achieve her 6-year degree in School Psychology at the University of Georgia. She was then able to help hundreds of youths better find their way, through whatever challenges they faced.

When Betty retired from education, she became involved with the other end of the age spectrum, working on aging services issues. She was elected a senator for her district to the Silver Haired Legislature, where she spearheaded legislation to enhance senior services, especially in rural areas where she lived.

Even as she reached her own golden years, well into her 90s, she encouraged young women who worked at her retirement facility to reach higher and take advantage of educational opportunities. Education was her life’s work. And it sustained her and her family through turbulent times. She was keen to pass along that message of hope.

I’m unspeakably proud and grateful to have had Betty Murrah as my mother and mentor.

She truly had a positive impact, one that we want to continue.

Our family is honored to establish the Betty Ann Murrah Endowed Scholarship with the Jeannette Rankin Foundation.

We hope that many more women can rise and thrive with Betty’s help.