Betty Jeanne Campbell

Betty Jeanne (Farrell) Campbell, one of three children of Clara Lonella (Stattler) and James Melville Farrell, was born at her grandparents' home in Carson, Iowa, on March 30, 1925. She grew up in Carson where her father was a rural mail carrier and her mother a homemaker. Betty Jeanne graduated from Carson High School in 1942, where she had been active in many activities, particularly basketball. She remained at home for a year before entering nursing training at Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa, because she initially was too young to enroll. Betty Jeanne resisted efforts by her parents for her to start college during that year for fear that they would expect her to complete any course of study she began and more than anything, Betty Jeanne wanted to be a nurse. She graduated as a registered nurse in 1946, and as a member of the U.S. Army Nurse Cadet Corps. Betty Jeanne would have entered military service if World War II had still been underway. She instead joined the Pottawattamie County Public Health Department, one of many nursing positions she filled during her long career. One of her more enjoyable nursing jobs was at the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bl...[more]

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s, where Betty Jeanne learned American Sign Language to communicate with her young patients. Betty Jeanne was a long-time member of the Carson Presbyterian Church and a member of the Pythian Sisters of Iowa. She enjoyed traveling but always found her way home to Southwest Iowa. Betty Jeanne was voracious reader, enjoyed music of all types, loved and collected frogs. In later years, she became especially involved in genealogy, taking trips to Des Moines, IA, and to Utah and Washington, DC, to research her family. Betty Jeanne also became an avid card player, particularly bridge, which she continued to pursue as long as her health permitted. Betty Jeanne passed away at the Oakland Manor in Oakland, Iowa on July 7, 2012, at the age of 87 years, 3 months, and 7 days. She was preceded in death by her parents; infant brother Junior Farrell; brother Dell Stattler Farrell; and daughter-in-law Linda Campbell. Her marriages to Gerald Forristall and James Campbell ended in divorce. Betty Jeanne is survived by children, William Campbell of Vienna, VA, James Campbell of Council Bluffs, IA, Heidi Aylward and husband Bob of Bellevue, NE, and Stanton Campbell and wife Jennifer of Council Bluffs; eight grandchildren; six great grandchildren; and other relatives and friends. Memorial services will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday, July 13, 2012, at the Loess Hills Funeral Home in Carson with inurnment in the Carson Cemetery. A memorial fund has been established.