Betty Ruth Stone of Columbus, Mississippi

March 3, 1930 - June 5, 2023

BETTY STONE
Betty Ruth Boyls Stone, of Columbus, Miss., died on June 5, 2023. Born on March 3, 1930, in West Point, Miss., she was the older daughter of Mary Frances Yeates and Gaston Dean Boyls.
Betty’s early childhood was spent in Washington, D.C., where the family, which included a younger daughter Margaret, took full advantage of living in an historic and cultural city.  In the summer, Betty would ride the train by herself to Greenwood, Miss., to visit her beloved grandparents, Ruth and John Richey Boyls. Betty’s stories of pets and horseback rides delighted subsequent generations, who wished that they, too, had experiences such idyllic times. The family moved to Columbus when she was nine, and she attended public schools, graduating from S.D. Lee High School.
Betty enrolled at Mississippi State College for Women (MSCW), with plans to transfer, but they were dashed by the untimely death of her father.  She resolved to make the most of what the “W” had to offer, blazing a stellar college career despite the hurdles of being a “town girl.” She was a member of the Hall of Fame, the President’s Council, Theater Guild, Rogue and Maskers social clubs, numerous honorary societies, and listed in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. A biology and chemistry double major, she also displayed her mastery of the written word as editor of The Spectator. She wrote a weekly column entitled “Hot Water Boyls,” trying her best not to be distracted by a persistent young lawyer who managed to break strict “W” rules by visiting The Spectator offices at all hours.
She married that persistent young lawyer, Douglas Clyde Stone, in 1951, upon graduation from MSCW, and they made their home in Columbus raising three daughters, Nora Frances, Terrell and Diana. As a newlywed, she worked in the laboratory at Doster Hospital. Later, she worked as a recruiter for MUW (formerly MSCW), and was the editor of Showcase for the Columbus Arts Council. She wrote church plays and several Junior Auxiliary Pilgrimage pageants, mining fascinating Columbus history and mixing it with her colorful imagination.
Betty returned to MSCW to earn master’s degrees in bacteriology and microbiology. While her contemporaries were reading Ladies Home Journal, she was reading Scientific American. Displaying versatility, a trait she highly valued, she also pursued countless artistic endeavors:  community theatre, designing and embroidering an exquisite wall hanging, French hand sewing, smocking, mosaics, sand casting, and free-lance writing. She especially enjoyed painting as a member of Studio 206. She wrote and illustrated storybooks for her grandchildren, attuned to their special interests and traveled the world.
She was a life member and former president of the Columbus Junior Auxiliary, serving as an active, associate and Crown and Gavel member. Betty volunteered for children at the Junior Auxiliary’s Camp Rising Sun, but also cherished her more global volunteer experience hosting children from Belarus in a program designed to counter radiation damage from the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
Betty was a former president of the Lowndes County MUW Alumnae Chapter, the Four Seasons Garden Club, the Columbus Literary Society, and Les Amies Study Club. She served on the boards of the Friends of the Lowndes County Library, the MUW Foundation and the MUW Wesley Foundation. She was a member of the Emmaus Community, the Bernard Romans Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Huguenot Society.
She was an active member of the First United Methodist Church where she served as chair of the Worship Commission, on the Official Board and the Council on Ministries, as a youth coordinator, a valued Sunday School teacher and president of the Lewis Fellowship Class. The United Methodist Church guided and enriched her faith, and she relished the opportunity to serve through it.
In her later years, Betty’s considerable writing skills were tapped by the Commercial Dispatch to write a weekly column.  Her assignment was “old Columbus,” which she called the “geriatric beat,” but readers of all ages enjoyed the stories she told or elicited from others. She wrote her last column as an expression of grief and love for her longtime employee and companion, Daisy Summerville. The void left by Daisy has been lovingly filled by Barbara Luscious and Celia Bankhead, her faithful caregivers to the end.
To her children, she bequeathed a deep respect for education which encompasses both scientific inquiry and creative endeavors, and the example of a faith large enough to hold questions and belief. Affectionally known as B.B. to many, she believed life was a gift to be cherished, enjoyed and lived as fully and constructively as possible.
Betty is predeceased by the Douglas Clyde Stone, her husband of 45 years, and her parents Frances and Gaston Boyls. She is survived by her sister Margaret Boyls Whiting; daughters Nora Frances Stone McRae (Vaughan), Kate Terrell Stone Cooper (Mike), Diana Gaston Futrell Stone, grandchildren Douglas Vaughan McRae (Sarah), Selby Ruth McRae Graepel (Kevin), Alexander Watkins McRae (Christina), Cameron Stone McRae (Allison), Mary Frances Rogers Calix (Shaun), Julia Leigh Rogers Loecher (Christopher), Elisabeth Carinna Butgereit Hilde (Troy), and John Douglas Butgereit; twelve great grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and other family about whom she cared deeply.
Services will be held Monday June 12, 2023 at First United Methodist Church, Columbus with visitation at 1 PM and services at 2 PM followed by interment at Friendship Cemetery. Memorial Gunter Peel Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials may be made to the MUW Foundation, Camp Rising Sun or a favorite charity or arts organization.