Obituary of Betty Ruth Menagh

IN LOVING MEMORY OF BETTY R. MENAGH Betty Ruth Menagh, daughter of Hoyt and Bessie (Sheets) Menagh, was born June 24, 1921, in Bloomington, Nebraska, and passed away at the Andbe Home in Norton, Kansas, on March 4, 2014, at the age of 92. Betty grew up in Franklin and Kearney, Nebraska, attending the local schools, and graduating from the Kearney High School. She also attended one year at Kearney State College. On May 6, 1942, she married Merlin Clyde Menagh in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. No one thought they would last but 72 years later, they proved everyone wrong. While Merlin was in the service Betty worked at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., processing the top secrets for that time period. Betty and Merlin felt it was necessary for them to raise their five children and when they were just about raised, Betty sold furniture for Montgomery Wards. Due to Merlin's climbing of the education ladder, they made their home in several communities including Kearney, Mascot, Albion, Culbertson, Imperial, Ainsworth, and Lincoln, Nebraska. They were able to travel in the summers and enjoyed trips to Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Arizona. They retired to Shell Knob, Missouri, and later moved to Whispering Pines in Norton in 2012. They had recently moved into the Andbe Home. Betty was a member of the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Shell Knob where she had served as church treasurer. She enjoyed cooking, and sewing and had a green thumb when it came to her beautiful flower gardens. She always had the company of a pet all her life and upon entering the Andbe Home the residents voted to keep her dog, Julie, as the facility dog. Her greatest joy in life, however, was her family and especially the grandchildren. Survivors include: her husband, Merlin Menagh, Norton; one daughter and her husband, Sharon and Melvin Drassen, Golden, Missouri; four sons and their wives, Michael and Lora Menagh, Centennial, Colorado; Lynn and Pam Menagh, Norton; Terry and Denise Menagh, Lincoln, Nebraska; and Steve and Rhonda Menagh, South Bend, Nebraska; one sister, Virginia Goedeken, Franklin, Nebraska; 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren; other relatives and friends. Betty was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, William and Jeptha Byrum, one sister-in-law, Alberta Byrum, and one great-grandson, Jaxon Menagh. Memorials have been established to the Shriner's Hospital and Whispering Pines.