Elizabeth "Betty" Victoria (Hanson) Rhoads, age 87, of Pearl, Mississippi, passed away peacefully Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in the comfort of her home after an extended and debilitating illness. Betty was born July 20, 1937, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was named after her paternal and maternal grandmothers, Elisabeth (Swedish spelling) and Victoria, respectively. Betty was raised and educated in Springfield, Massachusetts, the younger of two intelligent daughters born to the late Carl "Tiny" Elmer Hanson and the late Rose "Rosie" Barbara (Galanek) Hanson, both formerly of Springfield.

After graduating from Springfield's High School of Commerce in 1955, Betty worked as a legal secretary for several years. She married in 1960, and, with her former husband, Charlie, she raised four healthy children in Springfield in the 1960s, frequently taking them to many of the same places she visited as a child, including, but not limited to, Friendly's Restaurants, Forest Park, and the Forest Park Zoo. In the early 1970s, the then young family of six set off on a long and winding journey that would take them to York, Pennsylvania, and later Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and near Pickwick Lake on the Mississippi side of the Mississippi/Tennessee state line before finally settling down for a time near Hobo Station outside of Booneville, Mississippi, in the mid 1970s to early 1980s to be close to – and to get to know – Charlie's side of the family.

Betty's primary vocation throughout most of her working years was that of a legal secretary; however, she worked a variety of jobs as the family moved from place to place, including briefly working as a seamstress at a garment factory in Marietta, Mississippi, in 1977 to help support the family financially. After divorcing in 1981 and after all her children had graduated from high school, she needed a fresh start; so, in 1982, she moved to Columbus, Mississippi, where she worked as a legal secretary first for Colom, Mitchell & Colom and then for Mitchell & Flint. Beginning in 1987 she served as a court reporter for Lowndes County, Mississippi, primarily assigned to Judge Beverley Mitchell Franklin for many years before retiring and moving to Byram, Mississippi, in 2002 – and later to Pearl, Mississippi, in 2013 – to spend more time with and dote on her cherished grandson, Christopher.

Before her retirement, Betty enjoyed travelling and took frequent trips to Springfield to visit her mother, Rosie; her sister, Barbara; and other members of her family. In 1990, she traveled to Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. On that trip she visited Dachau Concentration Camp, Ettal Monastery, and Neuschwanstein Castle, among many other notable places. In 1991, she took the trip of her lifetime to Paris, where she visited the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Louvre Museum.

In retirement, Betty found peace and contentment in the simple pleasures of everyday life. She looked forward to family gatherings, especially for birthdays and holidays, and, early in her retirement, she enjoyed family trips to the beach and Ship Island. She also looked forward to daily phone calls and annual visits with her sister, an avid Elvis Presley fan, and treasured the fact that she was with her sister on her sister's one and only visit to Graceland, The Home of Elvis Presley.

Betty especially loved time spent with her grandson, Christopher, on what were once weekly "Peep" nights and on his frequent weekend visits and weekend and summer day trips with the "Peeps," as well as on memorable family trips with him to Chattanooga, New Orleans, and Washington, DC. In addition to spending quality time with her family and with Christopher, her favorite pastimes in her golden years of retirement before her devastating illness were watching Hallmark Channel movies, solving daily Cricklers word puzzles, playing FreeCell Solitaire online, solving jigsaw puzzles, shopping, getting her hair and toes done at local salons, and nurturing her beloved cat, Fred.

Betty was a strong, resourceful, and resilient woman who loved her family and who worked hard all of her adult life. She loved strong coffee, sweets, fresh fruits, fresh-cut flowers, books, movies, music, dogs, and cats. She was a planner and an organizer, and, after many years of doing without, she enjoyed wearing good clothes and surrounding herself with nice things, including her many holiday decorations at Christmastime. She also loved to laugh and used humor and laughter to get through some of the most difficult times in her life.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents; her paternal grandparents, John August and Hannah Elisabeth (Larson) Hanson, formerly of Hartford, Connecticut; her maternal grandparents, Walter Stanley, Sr. and Victoria (Brzoska) Galanek, formerly of Bridgeport; her former husband and the father of her four children, Charles "Charlie" Humbert Rhoads, Sr., formerly of New Site, Mississippi; her dearly loved sister, Barbara Rose (Hanson) Schermerhorn, formerly of Springfield; and her angelic great-granddaughter, Ali Frances Rhoads.

A proud mother and grandmother, an aunt, and a friend, Betty – a.k.a. Mom, Ma, Momma, Grammy, Aunt Betty, and Miss Betty – leaves behind her four devoted children, Chuck (Joy), Jan, Bill (Tiffany), and Bob Rhoads, all of Pearl; one adored grandson, Christopher (Cassie) Rhoads of Saint Gabriel, Louisiana; two nieces, Alice (Ron) Kempf of Monson, Massachusetts, and Carol (Rick) Lorion of Spencer, Massachusetts; one nephew, Neal Schermerhorn, Jr. of Westfield, Massachusetts, as well as a host of great nieces and nephews, extended family, dear friends, and Pumpkin "Fred" Franklin, the cat.

Wright & Ferguson of Flowood, Mississippi, is handling the arrangements. However, in keeping with Betty's prearrangements, family remembrances will be private, and there will be no visiting hours. Instead of flowers, a contribution may be made to any reputable charity in Betty's memory.

We love you, Ma!