BETTY IRENE WILSON MCCARTY
Betty Irene Wilson McCarty, 91, formerly of 178 E. Mitchell Rd. Liberty, passed away peacefully Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, at Friends Fellowship Community in Richmond.
Betty was born Oct. 3, 1929, in Rush County, to Ola Wilson and Olive Morse Wilson and lived her entire life in east central Indiana. She was a May 1947 valedictorian graduate of Milton High School, and attended Earlham College, Richmond, for a year. During high school, she was a delegate to the Junior Red Cross-National Convention in Philadelphia, PA and was selected to represent the state of Indiana in the DAR Good Citizenship Pilgrimage to Washington, DC. She was active in Wayne County 4-H and later in Rural Youth, where she met Richard Earl McCarty from neighboring Union County. They were married Oct. 22, 1949, in Milton, and remained married nearly 45 years until Richard’s death in 1994.
In the mid 1950s, Betty started working at Sears in Richmond and became the first woman in the history of that store to sell furniture and appliances. She competed against the men quite well in a successful sales career at Sears for more than 35 years until retirement in 1992. She continued to work part time in furniture sales for a few years at Bullerdick Furniture in Richmond. Betty was a member with Richard of the First Presbyterian Church, and later a member of Hanna’s Creek Christian Church, both of Liberty.
Betty was an avid sports fan, especially Cincinnati Reds baseball. She had season tickets for many years and went to hundreds of games. Some years she called the Reds “meatheads” when they played poorly. But she remained a loyal fan through much of her life, especially during the glory years of The Big Red Machine in the 1970s.
During 11 years of her retirement, Betty traveled extensively, visiting Ireland, Scotland, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong and maybe more along the way.
Survivors include her sons: Mark McCarty and daughter-in-law Susie of The Villages, FL; Scott McCarty and daughter-in-law Kathy of Connersville; grandchildren and their spouses: Ryan McCarty and Goldie of Chicago, IL; Stephen McCarty and Tracy of South Pasadena, CA; Amy Canchola and Gil of Garland, TX; Laura Butt and Josh of Cory, IN; great-grandchildren Sophie McCarty; Dylan McCarty; Madeline, Nicholas, Joseph, and Kathryn Canchola; Ava and Elijah Butt; nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. In addition to her husband Richard, Betty was preceded in death by her parents, sisters Frances Grace and Helen Freese, and brother Grover Wilson.
Due to the pandemic, no services will be held. Her ashes will be interred at Richland Cemetery, Liberty. A celebration of life among the family will be arranged later. Memorial donations may be made to the First Presbyterian Church, and/or Hanna’s Creek Christian Church, or sent to Showalter Blackwell Long funeral home, 920 N Central Ave, Connersville, IN 47331 for distribution to the churches.