Betty Jean (Myatt) Gearlds, 88, of Martinsville, IN, and formerly of Tompkinsville, KY, passed away Sunday, May 25th, at Grand Valley Health and Rehab in Martinsville, IN.
Jean was born in Tompkinsville, KY on January 15, 1937, a daughter of the late Clara (Keys) and Thad Myatt.
Jean was a generous & hospitable person. She enjoyed caring for others. Along with her children and husband she opened her home in welcoming 23 different friends and family members to live with her and her family throughout her life time. Once you became a resident in her home you became part of her family.
Jean lost her husband Freddie Gearlds of 20 years when she was 36 years old. This life event left her with 2 daughters to finish raising. She then chose to complete her education and obtained a degree in nursing. For the remainder of her career she worked 2 full-time jobs, 1 in nursing and 1 as a postal carrier. In 1997 Jean retired and moved to Arkansas to be closer to her older daughter Connie and family. She lived there for the next 17 years. In 2014 she returned to Indiana living the remainder of her life, the last 2 years with her younger daughter, Coeita. She was a lifelong member of Marwood Baptist Church and was an active participate there in its early years. Jean very much enjoyed spending time with
family and friends. She was also an avid reader and spent endless hours escaping into her books. Jean was a loyal friend, a caring and generous mother, grand mother, sister and aunt. She will be missed by all that knew and loved her.
Jean is survived by two daughters, Connie West & Roger, of Clarksville, AK; Coeita Bales, of Martinsville, IN; sister, Shirley Crabtree & Leon, of Gamaliel, KY; 7 grandchildren, Addie Parmenter, Shae Bailey, Callie Henderson, Chris Chesser (Brianna), Zach Bales (Ashley), Isaac Bales (Kirsty) and Emily Paavola (David); 11 great granddaughters, 7 great grandsons, 1 great great granddaughter.
Other than her parents and husband, she is preceded in death by her adopted son, Chris Robbins, brothers, Joe, Darrell and Wayne Myatt and sisters, Opal Davis and Dana Logan.
Graveside services will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, May 31st at Harlan Crossroads Cemetery, Tompkinsville, KY.
The family is requesting that in lieu of flowers a donation be given to the Gideons fund in Jeans honor for the distribution of bibles at www.gideons.org/sendtheword
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