Betty Jean (Barcus) Milligan (2020)

BARCUS, MILLIGAN

Posted By: Shirley Keating
Date: 11/8/2023 at 18:03:21

Overton Funeral Home
Indianola, Iowa

Betty Jean Milligan

Graveside services for Betty Jean Milligan who passed away on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 in Winterset, IA will be held 2 p.m., Wednesday, October 7, 2020 in the IOOF Cemetery, Indianola. Visitation will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Overton Funeral Home prior to services.

Betty Jean Barcus was born to Virgil and Florence Barcus in Newton, Iowa on January 17th, 1932. She was the youngest of three children. Betty was very gifted with the ability to play the violin in school and and a lifelong love for art, drawing and painting portraits & landscapes. After graduating high school, she worked in the office of the Maytag Company, where she met and fell in love with Marvin Milligan. The fact that Marvin was totally deaf, made no difference to them at all. He taught her American Sign Language to communicate with each other, in two weeks time. They married on May 22nd, 1955 and lived in rural Baxter, Iowa and a few years later sons Craig and Steve were born.

They bought a farm northeast of Indianola in 1960, and moved to the farm a couple of years later. Betty and Marvin worked hard to establish a fine farm over the years. Even though she grew up in town, Betty loved the farm and worked as hard as any man, building fences, baling hay, and working with the cattle. Betty worked off the farm from time to time, at the Tax Processing Department for the State of Iowa, Herschel Manufacturing, Simpson College as a personal secretary to several professors, American Fence, and Ryko Corporation. She loved to bake, and one year decided to enter a cherry pie at the County Fair and won a blue ribbon.

Betty was the bedrock of the family. Even as Marvin and Betty both dealt with cancer, in which Marvin lost his battle early, Betty never once complained about her situation. She always said, “When life hands you lemons, go make lemonade”.

Betty loved her children and grandchildren very, very much and encouraged them in everything that they did. She was very kind and warm to everyone that she met. Betty will be greatly missed and her family will cherish the memories of having her in their lives.

Betty passed from this mortal life at the Madison County Memorial Hospital on the 30th of September, and will be laid to rest at the I. O. O. F. Cemetery in Indianola on October 7th, 2020.

She is survived by her children, Craig (Joy) Milligan, Steve Milligan; grandchildren, Kaitlin Milligan, Daniel Milligan; nieces, Julie and Joni. She is preceded in death by her husband, Marvin; brother, Donald Barcus; sister, Ruth Barcus; parents, Virgil and Florence Barcus.

Memorial contributions may be made to the family in her name for a contribution at a later date.

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