Betty Mae Phillips, 102 years young, died on February 16, 2024, at Independence Village in Ames. Visitation for friends and family will be from 11:00 am to 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb 22, 2024, at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care, 414 Lincoln Way in Ames, with services following at 1 p.m. at the same location. A family burial service will occur immediately afterward at the Ames Municipal Cemetery.

Born on January 1, 1922, near Talmage, Iowa, Betty was the youngest of three children born to Ethel and Oren Russell. She grew up and learned to appreciate the value of hard work during the difficult times of the Great Depression. It was a lesson that shaped the rest of her long and fulfilling life.

She grew up on the family farm and graduated high school in 1940. During her teen years, she met a young man, Rollen Phillips, quite by chance at a scavenger hunt and soon fell in love with him. But world events intervened in their lives as World War II began, and Rollen wanted to serve his country. He trained to become a bomber pilot, and Betty began preparing for what she knew would be a long and uncertain separation.

Betty married Rollen in Texas in 1943. A fellow acquaintance and pilot of Rollen's also planned to get married at about the same time, and so they shared a double ring ceremony with Frank and Doris Sargent, a couple from New Hampshire stationed on the same base. As is the nature of war time, they were soon transferred to different bases and the couples lost contact. Through fate and a desire to reconnect, 50 years later they located each other and celebrated their anniversary together when the Sargents visited Iowa. Betty was ecstatic to see them again and to be able to relive such an important milestone in her life.

After the war, Betty and Rollen made their home in Ames and began their family. Within a ten-year window, they had three girls and a boy, and began the challenging process of raising four children in a two-bedroom home. The environment was often hectic, but always loving. The family looked forward to three-week family vacations every summer at various locations throughout the country. A week of fishing and mingling with extended family at a resort in Minnesota was also a highlight each year.

The family continued to grow. Soon, there were eight grandchildren. Betty and Rollen attended every one of their high school graduation ceremonies, went to several college graduations, as well as other important milestones in their lives. Betty taught every grandchild the game of cribbage and played many intense and competitive games with them. She taught them that, just as in life, you play to win. But you win and lose with equal grace, and you never cheat. She shared many of the same lessons with the ensuing eleven great grandchildren, and many of them recall their childhood memories of Betty with great fondness.

After Rollen retired, he and Betty began taking organized bus trips across the United States. They participated in 55 such trips in their twilight years, visiting every state except Alaska and Hawaii. Betty loved these trips and would often share the highlights of these experiences with friends and family.

As they aged, it became more difficult to care for each other in the home they shared for 64 years. They moved into Independence Village in Ames early in 2015 and began to embrace this new adventure in their later years. But Rollen passed away on the final day of 2015, and Betty lost her life partner of 75 years. Ever resilient, she participated in card games, short excursions with other residents and especially playing bingo, her favorite retirement pastime. Still competitive, she was often a multiple winner and residents knew Betty would arrive with the determination to win prizes at every session. She made many friends in assisted living, and the staff shared with her children that they enjoyed taking care of Betty and that she was one of their favorites.

Betty was truly one of a kind. She grew up in an era when nothing was wasted, resources were scarce, and family was paramount. And she lived that way for the rest of her life. She had expectations of others and she demanded that they be met, yet she also had a huge heart, a passionate style of forgiveness and she provided exceptional encouragement to help her family succeed. She was not only the matriarch but was also the glue that kept the family together. She will be missed by everyone who knew her throughout her 102 years of exceptional life.

Betty is survived by two children: Rhonda Nederhoff and a son, Richard Phillips, and grandchildren Michael Dennis, Merrily Guyer, David Moppin, William Dunkin III, Randall Dunkin, Diana Burkhalter, Kimberly Phillips, and Meredith Phillips.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Rollen; daughters Sharon Kay Dennis and Linda Lee Lucente, brother Raymond Deyo Russell, and sister Agnes G. Roberts.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be directed to the American Cancer Society.

Online condolences may be directed to www.grandonfuneralandcremationcare.com