TILLAPAUGH, Betty Ann

The Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, AZ Wednesday, September 14, 2011 Betty Ann Tillapaugh, 80, of Wickenburg, graduated from Earth to be in the presence of her Lord and Savior Jesus on Saturday, Sept. 3 at the Wickenburg Community Hospital following a 10-month battle with pancreatic and liver cancer. Betty was born on March 19, 1931 on a farm near Cogswell, N.D., to Albert and Alma Wellman. She graduated from Havana (N.D.) High School in 1949. At 14 years of age, Betty met Herbert Tillapaugh, 17, a cousin of a friend, on the family farm. Thus began a 65-year life journey together. Herb and Betty married on June 14, 1950 in Havana. They both attended Valley City State Teachers College in Valley City, N.D. After one year of college, Betty started her teaching career in a one-room school in rural North Dakota. Herb then joined the Air Force and ultimately they were stationed in Colville, Wash. During these years, daughter Ann and son Tom were born. From 1955 until 1994, Herb and Betty administered and taught together as a team in small, rural western towns. They considered themselves much more than teachers and really worked to improve the school, the students, and the community. In 1955, the Tillapaughs moved to Heron, Mont., where they still have many friends and fond memories of a beautiful community and many wonderful former students. Sons Ralph and Ronn were born during this time. From 1962-1965, Herb and Betty taught in Brockton, Mont. About this experience, Betty wrote, “Shortly after I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior and Lord, we went to teach on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in far eastern Montana. I was to teach 36 first graders. I remember being out on the playground during recess; there wasn’t a blade of grass anywhere. I began to whine and complain to my Lord, “How can I teach them, I can barely touch them,’ I asked. They had impetigo, sores, lice, and snotty noses. The bell rang and I turned to go back into the schoolhouse. I felt little warm hands slip into each of mine. I looked down, Robert Little Crow to the left and Archie Spotted Fox to the right. They smiled up at me. At that instant, I was baptized in a warm bath of pure love. We swung arms and ran to the school together. From then on, there was not a problem I could not handle.” From 1965-1967, they were in Eckelson, N.D., where Betty finished her college degree at Valley City. In 1967, Herb and Betty moved to Wenden, Ariz., where they administered and taught for 27 years, the remainder of their careers. During these years, they poured their lives into legions of former students who to this day have a very strong love and loyalty to “Mr. and Mrs. T.” The school in Wenden flourished, and by 1978 was considered one of the top academic schools in the state. Due to their influence, many students went on to college and professional careers. The Wenden Warriors athletic teams developed a strong reputation for their excellence. In 1994, Herb and Betty retired. One of their greatest legacies is that the preponderance of the faculty and staff at the school in Wenden is comprised of their former students who had gone on to college and returned to teach and administer at their alma mater. Herb and Betty retired to Wickenburg where they live to this day. They attend Aguila Community Church and have made many friends in this and the surrounding communities. But their greatest source of pride and pleasure is derived from the many wonderful students they had the privilege of impacting. Though they never accumulated much in the way of earthly and material wealth, their treasure is measured by the lives and accomplishments of their many generations of former pupils; they are rich indeed. Betty was preceded in death by her parents, and sister Audrey. Betty is survived by her husband and life-mate of 65 years Herbert; children Ann Longnecker of American Samoa; Tom Tillapaugh of Denver, Colo.; Ralph Tillapaugh of Phoenix, Ariz.; and Ronn Tillapaugh of Wickenburg, Ariz.; 13 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. In addition, she is survived by two brothers, Albert Wellman of Rapid City, S.D.; and Cecil Wellman of San Antonio, Texas; her mother-in-law Alice Tillapaugh of Arkansas; as well as a number of brothers and sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, and nephews. She will be missed by all. Memorial services were held at the Wenden Bible Church in Wenden, Ariz., Saturday, Sept. 10 and the Aguila Community Church in Aguila, Ariz., on Sunday, Sept. 11.