Betty Pinckard

Betty Lilleux Pinckard, 91, of Napoleon, Ohio, passed away on May 12, 2025. Betty was born July 5, 1933, at her family’s home in Spring, Texas. She was the youngest of five children born to Alceed and Estrus (Baker) Lilleux. Betty’s family moved to Tomball, Texas, when she was 12. She excelled in school and was a very beautiful and popular girl. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 1948, while at a folk dance at a Methodist church in Tomball, she caught the eye of her future husband, Jack Pinckard, who thought she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. They had their first date in March 1949 and married later that year on Dec. 23. Jack and Betty loved each other dearly for 76 years. Betty was the salutatorian of her 400-member class at Sam Houston High School and was offered a full scholarship to the University of Texas. However, she turned it down. In later years, when asked why she would do that, she stated, “That’s not the life I wanted. I wanted to be with your father.” In 1952, after Jack was drafted by the U.S. Army and assigned to Fort Belvoir in Virginia, Betty joined him there. She found them an apartment but quickly assessed the financial situation of living on her husband’s modest military salary. Being a “problem solver” (a skill that served her well throughout life), she acquired a job as a bookkeeper at the Officer’s Club, where one of her fondest memories was eating lunch on the patio overlooking the Potomac River. With her new job, they would be able to eat all month after all. When they returned to Houston in 1954, they had a newborn daughter and began creating a happy home there. Over the next 10 years, their family grew to six, with the addition of two more daughters and a son. She managed the demands of the household and raising children while her husband worked full time and also attended the University of Houston. Betty was the perfect example of “bloom where you are planted.” As Jack’s career took him to different cities, Betty was able to quickly make friends and get involved in her local community and church. They later lived in Galveston and Paris, Texas. They moved to Napoleon in 1974 and to Mt. Laurel, N.J., in 1985. In the fall of 1995, after retirement, Betty and Jack moved back to Napoleon. Betty reentered the workforce when her children were older. She was the Welcome Wagon hostess in Napoleon in the mid-1970s. She later worked at the JC Penney catalog store downtown. After they moved to New Jersey, Betty worked at the Campbell Soup Consumer Center and as an auditor for the JC Penney store in Cherry Hill Mall. She was always involved in her church, teaching Sunday School and serving on various leadership boards. She was in charge of the church kitchen in Mt. Laurel and organized funeral dinners at Christ Methodist Church in Napoleon. She was in charge of the Community Meal in Napoleon for eight years. Betty loved to host people in her home. While many people downsize their home in retirement, she and Jack built a large home so they could continue to entertain family and friends. She was known for her excellent cooking and baking. In 1983, she won first place for her recipe for “Best Ever Baked Chicken” in the Napoleon Sesquicentennial Celebration cookbook. Over the years, dozens of teenagers (and adults) enjoyed sitting in her kitchen eating her delicious chocolate chip cookies and other desserts. Her signature spaghetti and meatballs are legendary. She was also an excellent seamstress. Her daughters still talk about special dresses that she made for them that made them feel “cute” and special. Jack and Betty enjoyed traveling together throughout the U.S. and Europe. They would talk fondly of their long road trips and the adventures they had together. Jack and Betty have truly loved each other throughout their lifelong journey together. Betty was preceded in death by her parents and her siblings, Mertie Ludie, Avis Green, Morris Lilleux, and Dorothy Wilson, as well as her grandson, Cory Konz. She is survived by her beloved husband of over 75 years, Jack Pinckard, her children, Carol Foster (Maumee), Susan (Richard) Jarvis (Paris, Texas), Michele Hall (Napoleon) and Cliff (Patty) Pinckard (Concord Township, Ohio), grandchildren, Jake (Renee) Short, Drew Short, Cody Hall, Ryan (Kelsey) Hall, Elijah (Samantha) Hall, Dr. Kelsey (Austin) Schaefers, Halle (Evan) Frances Lach Pinckard and Christi McConathy, as well as nine great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. There will be a visitation from 10 a.m. until the time of services at 12 noon, on Friday, May 16, 2025 at Rodenberger-Gray Funeral Home, 1010 Westmoreland Ave., Napoleon. Interment will follow at Glenwood Cemetery, Napoleon. The family suggests donations be made to Christ United Methodist Church in Napoleon. Online condolences and messages may be shared with the family at rodenbergergray.com.

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Betty Pinckard

July 5, 1933 - May 12, 2025