On 29 August 1931, Betty was born Betty Jean Paige in Daytona Beach, FL to Opal Fern Childers.  A year later her sister Wilma Lou Childers was born. Both girls returned to Cameron MO with their mother in 1934. Betty was adopted by Julius and Annie Laurie Scott Ferguson who lived nearby in Gallatin. Wilma was adopted by another childless couple in Gallatin. Betty loved her large Scott and Ferguson family and growing up in Gallatin. As a child she liked tap dancing and singing in operettas. As she grew older her interests were horses, fishing, playing trumpet and taking voice lessons. She had a beautiful soprano voice.

In Dec 1948 Betty married Jim Mitchell of Houston TX, who met Betty when visiting his grandparents in Gallatin.  Between 1949 & 1962 three daughters were born.  Betty cared for her aging grandmother Scott. She and Jim divorced in 1963.

Betty married John Race in 1964, and the new family moved to Springfield, where John was employed by MFA. By 1966 three sons were born. The family moved to a farm near Rogersville.  Betty cared for her mother Annie Laurie and her mother-in-law Ethyl Race during those years.  After their deaths, she worked as a secretary at Glendale Christian Church. Betty moved to Springfield in 1989 and lived with her daughter Martha. She and John divorced in 1991. The same year Betty moved to a house on Villa Rose in Springfield, where she lived until going to residential care due to dementia about 2019. Betty married Bob Harding in 2001 caring for him until his death from cancer in 2005. Betty spent her life caring for others.

CHILDREN:
Martha Mitchell Gulley Wells of Marshfield; Laurie Mitchell Barello (Pete) of El Dorado Springs; Michelle Mitchell Sanders Defoe of Marshall; John F. Race (Lisa), Gene F. Race (Teresa) & Galen R. Race of Springfield.

GRANDCHILDREN:
Rick Gulley (Rhonda) of Haslet TX; Dan Gulley (Francela) of Springfield; Brian Barello (Amy) of Princeton TX; Sara Barello Adair of Princeton TX; Benjamin J. Sanders of Saigon; Autumn Sanders of Oregon; Seth Sanders, Rachel Sanders & Josh Sanders (Marshall MO); Jake Sanders of Puyallup WA; Rebecca Sanders of Virginia; Dillon Race (Ashlie) of Nixa; Ethan Race of Springfield; Katelyn Race Arnold (Dave) of Indianapolis.

GREAT GRANDCHILDREN:
Hailey Gulley Smith (Sam) of Oceanside CA; Morgan Gulley of Haslet TX; Katelyn Carlton of Lake Ozark MO; Jonathan Gulley, Addie Gulley & Jackson Gulley of Cape Coral FL; Jordan Barello of Ft Worth TX; Isabella Adair Ramirez (Jay), Wyatt Adair, Caroline Adair, Owen Adair & Adelin Adair of Princeton TX, Faith, Grace, Hope, Gabriel, William, Annabelle, Nathaniel Snelling, Maxwell Feinbirg, Elijah Sanders and Sebastian Sanders.

GREAT GREAT GRANDCHILD:
Adair

Visitation will be from 2:00 PM until service time at 3:00 PM Friday, February 27, 2026 in Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home.