Betty June (Bruner) Pry

Betty J. Pry, age 96, of Correctionville, passed away on Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at the Correctionville Specialty Care of Correctionville after a short illness.  A funeral service will be held on Monday, January 04, 2021 at 1:00 PM at the Nicklas D. Jensen Funeral Home of Correctionville with the Pastor Clif Cockburn officiating. Burial will be at the Willow Township Cemetery of Holly Springs.  A visitation will be held on Sunday, January 03, 2021 from 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM with a prayer service at 5:00 PM at the Nicklas D. Jensen Funeral Home of Correctionville.  

Betty was born June 25, 1924 at Sioux City, Iowa to William Luther Bruner and Edith Rose Beals Bruner.She went to Grant, Woodrow and Central High in Sioux City.

She was married to Lee Leonard Pry on February 8, 1942 at South Sioux City, Nebraska. Lee was in the service during World War II and she moved with him to Arkansas and Kentucky while he was going through two years of training.  While Lee fought in France and Germany, she lived in Sioux City taking care of her two small children and working for a time in a packing plant.Lee and Betty lived in Sioux City from 1945 until 1962 with Lee working at Swift’s Packing Plant and Betty, for most of that time, being a full time homemaker.  Betty and Lee had 12 children, seven boys and five girls, three of which are now deceased.     Betty was devoted to her family and very proud of all of her children.

In 1962, Betty and Lee moved to a farm south of Correctionville.  They were dairy farmers and milked cows until 1978.  In 1989, they sold the farm and moved into Correctionville at 312 Birch Street where she continued to reside after Lee’s death in 1998 and until she moved to the Care Center a few years ago.

Betty took nursing assistant training at St. Joseph’s in Sioux City and worked there for a few years following her training.  From there she was a nursing assistant at Sunrise Manor, Sioux City for seven years and in September 1976, Betty joined the Colonial Manor staff in Correctionville where she worked until her retirement.  

Betty always had a special place in heart and life for the Lord, Jesus Christ.  She was a member of the Greenville Evangelical Free Church in Sioux City and upon moving to Correctionville in 1962, she became a member of the Church of Christ.  Besides taking care of a family with 12 children, working full time and helping out on the farm, Betty still found time to volunteer at the Church and at the Care Center and to  pursue her hobbies.  Betty’s passion was being a Sunday school teacher and working with the elderly.   She loved to crochet and made numerous afghans and other items.  She traveled a good deal, having visited all of the states in the Continental US, Canada, Mexico and Israel.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Lee; and three children: Louella, age 2, July 25, 1959; Kenneth, age 16, July 19, 1977 and Allen, age 69, April 18, 2012.  

She is survived by five sons and four daughters: Joanne Peters of Sun City West AZ; Daniel and wife Becky of Austin, TX; William and wife Jonya of Oklahoma City; Susan Verzani and husband James of Katy, TX; Roger and wife Melinda of Sergeant Bluff; Deanna Struck and husband Mark of Council Bluffs; Keith and wife Taunia of Correctionville; Kelly and wife Jenice of Sergeant Bluff and Roxanne of Topeka, KS; 33 grandchildren, 51 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren; two sisters and a brother, Veda, Oscar and Rosemary of Mankato, MN.

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