Obituary: Betty Terry

Logan - Betty Louise Ayres Terry passed away on November 6, 2023, in Amarillo, Texas. She was born in Tucumcari, New Mexico, on July 27, 1934, and lived 89 years in Harding and Quay County, the last sixty of those in Logan. A celebration of her life will be held on November 25, 2023, at the First Baptist Church in Logan at 10:30 a.m.

Betty was the youngest child of Benjamin Franklin Ayres and Myrtle Mae McDaniel Ayres and was preceded in death by her parents and nine siblings. She was also preceded in death by her husband of 73 years, Kenneth Terry, who passed away on August 19, 2023.

Betty was known as endlessly friendly and positive, as well as an inviting hostess who cherished her role as a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was the place you could always go for a kind, accepting ear and a hot cup of coffee. She was the first one to visit a shut-in or deliver a casserole when tragedy occurred. Every moment of her life, she was thinking of how she might help someone else.

She was born into a farm family and then married Kenneth Terry, also a farmer, when she was fifteen years old. On their wedding day, May 12, 1950, they moved into the "weaning house" behind the Terry farmhouse and began an epic love story that continued beyond Kenneth's death. They had prayed for years to leave this world together, but she was left behind for 79 days to finish life on her own. We celebrate that they are finally together again.

Kenneth and Betty raised their family of four and farmed in Porter, San Jon, and Logan for over 20 years, with a brief hiatus when Kenneth worked for the Gas Company in Tucumcari.

After they left farming in the early 1970s, they bought the Fireside Inn Café in Logan. She loved to tell the story of how Kenneth came home and told her he wanted to buy the café, to which she replied, "Well, Kenneth, we've hardly ever eaten in a restaurant. What do we know about running one?" Going out for meals wasn't something dryland farmer families did.

But of course, the Fireside Inn became a success under their ownership and was everyone's favorite gathering place when the Terrys owned it. They were surprisingly well suited to caring for both customers and their workers. Betty quickly learned how to run a crew of kitchen and front staff, all of whom remained her lifelong friends.

There were other jobs along the way. She was a substitute teacher, bank teller, owned an antique shop, and worked at the Logan Post Office. In the final years of her life, she owned Terry's Floral in Logan, delivering smiles and comfort to countless businesses and homes in Quay County.

She was a member of the Logan First Baptist Church for sixty years, singing in the alto section of the choir and teaching Sunday School for decades.

She was a volunteer EMT for over 20 years. More than once, she brought a family home with her from the hospital or a wreck, giving them a safe place to sleep while they waited for someone to come from far away and pick them up.

Betty had never been on a plane before she was 40, but then went on 36 mission trips to eleven countries with International Crusades, including Mexico, Central America, the Philippines, Africa, and Thailand. When Hurricane Katrina destroyed the south, she spent three weeks in Louisiana, running a relief kitchen and feeding displaced families and workers. One year she and Kenneth drove to Sturgis to join a group devoted to sharing the story of Jesus with anyone who might listen.

She would say the most important job she held was taking care of her family. She was the non-judgmental heart that heard whatever celebratory story or sorrow someone needed to share. She baked the best peanut butter cookies and spoinks in the world. There was always a hot pot of coffee in her kitchen. She loved nothing better than to build a fire in the firepit, sitting on her wide front porch, drinking coffee, and visiting with whoever happened to drop by, always with Kenneth by her side until this past August.

Betty is survived by her children, Belinda Andrews (Andy) of Amarillo, Klee Terry of Logan, Kent Terry (Viola) of Logan, and Bunny Terry (Toby Anderson) of Santa Fe. She is survived by ten grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren.

She will be sorely missed by those whose lives she touched.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to The Cancer Foundation for New Mexico (www.cffnm.org) or The First Baptist Church of Logan Mission Fund.