Elizabeth Reid Gillespie Paxton

ARLINGTON -- Elizabeth Reid Gillespie Paxton, 100, went home to her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. Graveside service: 2 p.m. Saturday in Moore Memorial Gardens, Arlington. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mission Arlington. Elizabeth, known as Betty most of her life to her friends, was born on Jan. 25, 1915, in Dallas to Reubie Ray Reid and Earl Hefner Gillespie. She graduated from Sunset High School in Oak Cliff a year early and attended SMU for one year before leaving to help support her family during the illness of her father. She worked as the executive assistant to the chairman of the board of Magnolia Oil Company in Dallas before returning to college at North Texas Agricultural College in Arlington (now the University of Texas at Arlington) where she graduated after falling in love with and marrying the Cadet Colonel, O.E. Paxton Jr. She became a full-time wife and mother in the classic tradition of the 1950s. She provided a home for her husband and her two boys where they could relax, have fun, and grow in their relationships with Jesus Christ. She loved it when her grandchildren came along and she was able to see them grow and come to know the Lord and she loved her sons' wives like they were her own daughters, and they loved her the same way. A dedicated member of Pantego Bible Church for many years, Betty has been a member of First Baptist Church of Arlington for the last dozen years. Betty was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Orsen Everett Paxton Jr. Survivors: Her two sons and their wives, Orsen E. Paxton III and Donna, and Earl Gillespie "Gill" Paxton and Cindy. She is also survived by seven grandchildren, Erin Paxton Wallace, Adrien Paxton Maroney, Elizabeth Paxton Grier, Orsen E. Paxton IV, Austin Gillespie Paxton, Matthew Gillespie Paxton and Kathleen Paxton. Betty is also survived by seven great-grandchildren. Wade Family Funeral Home Arlington, 817-274-9233