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Elizabeth Rae “Betsy” Neyland
December 17, 1981-January 29, 2007
25 Forever
Betsy was born in Austin, TX to David and Ruth Neyland. She had an older sister, by 15 months, Emily Sarah Neyland. Betsy lived in LaGrange, TX, Natchez, MS, Alpine, TX, Kent Island, MD, and Fort Stockton, TX. Among those greeting her in heaven are her Grandmother Julia Spencer, Aunt Dana Spencer, Uncle Denny Baker, and friends: Bart Scharlach, Sean McKinnis, Junior Martinez, Brenda Tapp, Larry Lujan, Josh Garcia, and her cat Rose and dog Dezzie. She leaves behind parents Ruth and David, sister Emily, Grandparents LaVerne and Raymond Neyland, grandfather Harold Spencer, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
Betsy graduated from Fort Stockton High School in 2000 and attended New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM, and Sul Ross State University in Alpine, TX for a semester each. Betsy loved romance novels and Television shows. She boasted that she could eat a whole medium pizza from Pizza Pro every day. Betsy loved animals and always wanted to work at the Humane Society but she knew that she would want to bring all the animals home. Surviving her are 7 cats: Shadow, Smokey, Destiny, Tumbleweed, Zorro, Miss Kitty, and Pumpkin; 3 dogs: Scruffy, Xander, and Lost; and one turtle named Mr. Turtle.
Betsy had a mind of her own and loved to shock people. She would dye her hair various colors, loved to argue, and would say outrageous things just to see what kind of reactions she would get.
Betsy had difficulty making friends but the friends she made were for life. She valued her friends. Betsy was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Fort Stockton. She loved coming to Sunday School and Church. People often thought she was asleep but Betsy would sit with her eyes closed a lot and heard what was going on around her. Betsy loved her church family and wanted to attend church right away after she got out of the hospital. She only lasted 10 minutes the first time because of her pain but her faith in God and her church family were priorities for her.
Betsy helped with the MDA telethon for many years. She loved being on television. Betsy attended several church camps including Camp Pecometh in MD and Sacramento Methodist Assembly in NM, and she attended MDA camps in MD and TX for 9 years. The first year she went to MDA camp she loved it. She said the best thing about it was that she could do more than the other campers, as she could still walk and they were all in wheelchairs.
Betsy was active in her church youth group. She especially enjoyed going skiing with the youth in which she got to ride in a basket for those who used wheelchairs. In December 2001, Sunshine Foundation sent our family to Disney World. We were there for Betsy’s birthday which made it extra special.
Betsy was diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia when she was 10 years old. A few months after Betsy was diagnosed she told us to quit talking to other people about “my disease” and we realized that we needed to get on with the business of living and ignore the disease. Betsy did not want anyone to feel sorry for her. It made her mad when people tried to tell her good-bye. She knew she was going to heaven and she did. She is now free from her wheelchair and pain. We will see her soon in heaven walking, dancing, & singing.
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