Betty is a Meals on Wheels client.
But more importantly, Betty is a mother. She is a friend. She is a wife. Betty is a Christian, who has devoted her life to giving back to the Lord and praising him for all his gifts.
Betty met Bob, or “Mr. Wonderful” as she has always called him, back in the 1950s at Davenport University. It was on a set of stairs when they first made eye contact. Betty had passed hundreds of students on these stairs over her days, but for some reason she had an urge to say hi to Bob. So she did. Her and Bob continued their eye contact and simple “hi’s” for two weeks, until finally he asked her out to coffee. Not long after, Bob realized that Betty was the love of his life and he asked for her hand in marriage among friends and family at their local country club. Together they had 3 children.
Betty stayed home with the children to take care of them in addition to continuing her journey of growing in her religion and faith. When her son took up motocross, she helped in finding Motocross Ministries, which is “committed to helping all racers in the challenge and adventure of receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, serving Him in their relationships and in the fellowship of the church”. Betty devoted herself to this organization, looking after the riders and encouraging them in their faith. A silver cross was given to each of the riders to stick on the back of their helmets. For many years, Betty and her husband were involved in motocross and this ministry.
In addition to Motocross Ministries, Betty was involved in a Prison Ministry. She would visit local prisons to speak with prisoners who may not regularly have a visitor. And they would just talk: talk about their current situation, their past, and their faith. Betty was able to transform the strongest non-believers into Believers. One man in particular came from an abusive childhood; this man had no foundation of religion. Betty was there for him since the day they met. He has since been released from prison, resides in a group home, and is a strong Christian. He calls Betty, or “momma” as he now knows her, on a daily basis.
Betty lost “Mr. Wonderful” in 2013 to dementia. She was so used to taking care of him, that once he left her, she was surprised to realize that she may need someone to take care of her. She lost sight in her right eye, in addition to having arthritis, heart problems, hypertension, and hypoglycemia (and now has a vascular occlusion in her left eye). Things that were once so simple for her had became so hard. To lessen the burden on her children, Betty found Meals on Wheels a relief in providing her with nutritious meals. She now looks forward to meeting her delivery driver, Patrick, at the door 3 times a week and eating a warm meal from us 5 times a week.
Here at Meals on Wheels Western Michigan, we are proud to serve people like Betty. Everyone has a story. Everyone is more than just a client that we bring meals to. It is the relationships we have built with our seniors that make this work so meaningful. Thank you for reading about our dear friend, Betty.
