Mary Elizabeth (Montague) Anderson, 101, of Platte City, passed away on June 15, 2023, at the Gower Convalescent Center. Mary Bet or Betsy as she was called by her family and friends, was born on April 11, 1922 to Effie (Howard) and Louis Montague in rural Platte County near Camden Point, MO. She attended the one room Styne school through 8th grade and then graduated from Camden Point High School in 1939. Her family moved from their home near Camden Point to her ancestral home near Platte City in 1936. With the exception of a few brief periods early in her marriage, she resided there until April of this year. She was united in marriage to Bennie Ray Anderson on August 19, 1942. He prematurely preceded her in death on May 5, 1968. She is survived by her son Ronnie Ray Anderson (Dana), her daughter Monty Kay (Dave) Clark, both of Platte City and her grandson Ben Clark (Karli).
It was no secret that Betsy loved the farm and animals – particularly horses and cats. Not many years ago, Dave asked her if she could name all the horses she had in her life. We are pretty sure that her long list was complete and accurate! The whole family was in the Platte County Saddle Club and she participated in countless parades including the American Royal for many years. Betsy hauled Kay and her horses all over the area for years so she could participate in local shows. She also attended a southern Missouri trail ride on the Big Piney for 20 consecutive years.
She had a deep fondness for chickens, ducks and geese, too, and had a lot of them over the years. Many years ago she raised some quail. One time she successfully raised one tiny baby rabbit from a nest of several she had harrowed over while preparing a field for planting. Animals that were supposed to be raised for profit were not exempt from her adoration. Too many times hogs, sheep and cows that should have been moved on were held back because she couldn’t bear to part with them. She and Bennie farmed together prior to his death. She was at her happiest working in the field running a tractor or taking care of the livestock. It was no secret she was not at all fond of anything resembling housework – although she did love to make yeast rolls in her younger days. She loved to drive the old 2 ton Chevy farm truck during harvest – or anytime. For a time she helped Ronnie by operating his belt loader that picked up rock from an abandoned rail bed. She really loved to drive anything and successfully renewed her driver’s license at the age of 97. (She didn’t have anything to drive, but it was kind of the principle!) She said a lot of times that if she was younger and needed a job, she would like to have been a truckdriver. She grew up with a father that was a very successful trap shooter. Guns were a passion of his and he passed this on to his daughter. She wasn’t interested in trap shooting (except many years later when she loved to watch her grandson participating in the sport) but she loved to shoot pistols. She had quite the reputation for being an excellent shot and was known to outshoot some local law enforcement that would gather to target practice. During their marriage, she and Bennie loved to deer hunt in the fall.
In 101 years of life, Mary Bet saw an unbelievable amount of change. She grew up with very little, yet we can remember her saying that she didn’t know she was poor because everyone she knew was in the same circumstances. She would say that she had a pony, the old work horses, cats and chickens and she lived in a home with her parents, grandparents and a bachelor uncle whom she adored, so she had all she needed. She and Bennie were married less than a year when he went off to the service, but he came back home and they started their life of building a farm and family. He was taken away way too soon and she was a widow for 55 years. The year after Bennie died, her beloved mother passed away. It is easy to look at any life and say how it could have been done differently, but that is fruitless and without any merit. After 101 years Mary - Mary Bet - Betsy is now reunited with those that she has been separated from for so very long and we will rejoice in that.
The family is so appreciative of the amazing staff at the Gower Convalescent Center and Three Rivers Hospice for their dedication and compassion.
Graveside Service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 8th at Platte City Cemetery, Platte City, MO
Arrangements Hixson-Klein Funeral Home, Gower.
