"Dear Dean, Eric and Amy, What a beautiful service. I have known your Mom my whole life, and she was a dynamo. She always had me in stitches and it was so cute to see her and my Mom together. After JR and my Dad passed, I had the pleasure to spend a week in London with Betty Lou, my Mom, and my wife Shannon. We drank, saw shows, and had a great time. During my Mom's final days, I asked my Mom is there anyone she would like to talk to. She immediately said "call Betty Lou." When your Mom got to the phone, she said Good bye, Lou Lou what a ride we had... That's all we can hope for at the end is to be able to say that... My deepest condolences. Love Gregg Honigblum "
In loving memory of
Betty Lou Blumrosen
April 19, 1933 - December 25, 2021
Betty Lou Blumrosen, beloved mother, grandmother, and wife passed away peacefully, on Saturday, December 25, 2021. As an only child, she was born April 19, 1933 to William and Lucille Alberts of San Antonio, Texas. Anyone who knew Betty Lou was impressed by her Southern charm, endless curiosity, ability to consume books and recite movie lines (especially the Godfather), wicked sense of humor, political astuteness, poker skills and impeccable sense of style. But, it was her love of family that she most cherished. With all the accolades she received over the years and all the board positions she held, her greatest accomplishment was raising her three children, Eric, Dean and Amy. She felt immensely fortunate to live her last years in Houston and share in their successes and happiness. While always gracious and doting over her family, if you didn't like her opinion - she frankly, didn't "give a damn."
Betty Lou attended Travis Elementary, Mark Twain Junior High and Thomas Jefferson High in San Antonio, graduating at age 16. She then attended Ward Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee, and later the University of Texas in Austin, where she was a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority and majored in Philosophy. (She read all of Christopher Hitchens many books over and over and watched his debates on YouTube.)
Betty Lou married J.R. Blumrosen, the love of her life, on November 2, 1957. His law practice moved them to Lubbock, Texas where they raised their three children. In Lubbock, they made quite a name for themselves and immersed themselves in all aspects of the community. As a member of the Junior League, Betty Lou's favorite placement was as Chair of the 1967 Follies. She also served on the Board of Planned Parenthood for 10 years, on the Board of Shaareth Israel Temple, and on the Texas Tech Board for Future Planning. Betty Lou and J.R. were members of many social clubs in Lubbock, including the Terpsichorean Dance Club, Lubbock Country Club, the Lubbock Club, and the Texas Tech football dinner club. They also enjoyed the arts, particularly the Lubbock Symphony. However, their children's football, baseball, basketball, boxing, tennis, ballet and other activities were always their first priority. Betty Lou was known around town as the most gracious hostess and would often be found cooking gourmet meals, entertaining her friends, or sharing a scotch and water with J.R. after a long day's work. J.R. had been through so much adversity during World War II, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, where he was severely wounded and endured what turned into a life-long recovery. He was awarded the Purple Heart and several other medals for his service.
As a family, they enjoyed traveling, especially to the Caribbean, Hawaii, Europe and Israel. Most of all, they loved their time at Lake LBJ with Betty Lou's parents, and her aunt and uncle, where they participated in water sports and heated family poker games, a tradition she bestowed upon her grandkids. She was always fair but remained fiercely competitive.
When her daughter Amy was 10, Betty Lou wanted her to take an etiquette class, but none was offered in Lubbock. She took matters into her own hands, wrote an etiquette guide and offered classes in her home for boys and girls from 5th through 7th grades. She became known as "Miss Manners" and taught the course for many years. After Amy left for college, Betty Lou mastered the stock market through intense research. As the consummate student, she passed her tests and became a licensed broker, specializing in mutual funds. She advised her clients for 22 years, retiring at age 79.
All three Blumrosen children followed in their beloved father's footsteps and became lawyers, settling in Houston. After J.R. died in 1996, Betty Lou knew that being near her children was the only remedy to overcome her deep loss. After 43 years with so many treasured memories and close friendships from Lubbock, she made a brave move to Houston. She felt fortunate to live in the same city with all of her children, five grandchildren and grand dogs, whom she adored. In Houston, Betty Lou enjoyed renewing acquaintances with friends from her UT Austin days, and making new friends. She especially liked her weekly poker games, dinners with family, holidays and her near-weekly consumption of Molinas Tex-Mex.
Preceding Betty Lou in her in death were her parents, William and Lucille Alberts, and her aunt and uncle, Fred and Mildred Frey. She is survived by Eric, Tali, Kelli and Will Blumrosen; Dean, Tracey and Jenna Blumrosen; and Amy Blumrosen, Shari Heyen, Jake and Levi Blumrosen.
The family would like to thank the staff of Brookdale Galleria and especially Yulanda Rice Washington for the care and compassion provided to Betty Lou over the last couple of years. For those compelled to donate, in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (ppgulfcoast.org) or to The Emery Weiner School (emeryweiner.org) in Houston,Texas.
The memorial service for Betty Blumrosen will be this coming Sunday, January 16 at 2pm. Due to Covid restrictions, attendance is limited to family members only. The service will, however, be live streamed. For those interested in attending the service virtually, here is the link to the live stream:
https://venue.streamspot.com/event/MzAxNDk2MA==
The link will go live at 1:55 pm on Sunday.
Tributes
"I loved Betty Lou! We were in a ladies spiral group, she took a group of us to NYC, we had cocktails together, she was my financial advisor, and my children are better because of her manners classes. She could do it all! I will be sending positive thoughts and prayers to all of you. What a wonderful life she had. Susan Chambers"
"Betty Lou and JR were some of my parents best friends and we shared many great conversations over 40 years. She was exceptional in so many ways. Smart, outspoken, and always thoughtful and kind. I am grateful for her life and want the family to know they are in my thoughts and prayers."
"The entire Zodin family offers our most heartfelt condolences to the Blumrosen family, on the passing of Betty Lou. Jerry (Sonny) Zodin remembers her fondly from their years together at The University of Texas, in the early-mid 50's. He recalls her as sweet, very southern, and very pretty. I met her during my years at UT, as I became very close with all of her children, particularly Dean, who is one of my closest lifetime friends. Betty Lou was always very sweet and gracious to all the Zodins, and we loved her southern sense of humor, her proud and polished demeanor, and her many years of being a great wife to JR, and mother to Eric, Dean, and Amy. Betty Lou Blumrosen leaves behind a beautiful family of children and grandchildren, and those (like myself) who were fortunate enough to get to know her, are keenly aware of why all of the Blumrosens have done so well in life. Rest in peace, Betty Lou. with love, Andy Zodin"