Obituary of Betty Keen

Services for Betty J. Keen, 73, Turnertown, are scheduled for 1:00 pm, Tuesday, January 2, at the Cottle-Pearson Funeral Home chapel, Overton, with the Father John Whitsell officiating. Burial will be in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery, near New London. Mrs. Keen died Saturday, December 30, in Longview. She was born June 29,1933, in White County, Illinois, to the late Emerson and Ruby Garrett Rankin. She had been a resident of East Texas since 1975. She was a Registered Nurse practicing for Dr. James Hamilton, Overton from 1976 until 2000. She also operated her own floral business for many years. She took a lot of pride in her floral work and provided many of her floral arrangements in East Texas as a community service. Since 2000, she had been the head of the floral department at the Wal-Mart in Henderson. She was a very active member of Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Overton. In addtion to her parents, she was preceded in death by a daughter, Elizabeth Ann Northcutt, in November 2006. She was also preceded in death by four brothers, James Rankin, Karen Rankin, Wendel Rankin and Curt Rankin; and by a sister, Mary Nelson. She married John M. Keen, May 1, 1965, in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Survivors include her husband of almost 42 years, John M. Keen, Turnertown; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Dr. Ron and Cheryl Simonton, Longview and Michael Keen, Turnertown; a daughter and son-in-law, Valerie and Ron Porter, Salem, Illinois; a stepson, John Keen, Turnertown; a step daughter and step son-in-law, Wanda and Thomas English, New London; three brothers, Charles Rankin, Carmi, Illinois, and Bill Rankin and Merle Rankin, both of Enfield, Illinois; a sister, Beverly Wilson, Roseville, Minnesota; 17 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm, Monday, January 1.