Pawnee — Betty Jane Clay, 95, of Pawnee, Illinois, passed away Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024 at The Villas Senior Care Community in Sherman. She was born Aug. 9, 1929, in Ball Township, between Glenarm and Pawnee, the daughter of Boyd and Myrtle I. Allen Castle. She married Denzell R. Clay on March 19, 1949, at Pawnee United Methodist Church in Pawnee. Betty was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Denzell, in 1972; and two sisters, Shirley Harlan and Jeanie Scott.

Betty was the oldest of four siblings and graduated from Pawnee High School in 1947. She was a member of Pawnee United Methodist Church. Betty worked at Nelson's Drug Store in Pawnee for 27 years, where she first served customers at the soda fountain and later worked as the store's bookkeeper, retiring when she was 74 years old. Throughout her life, she also worked as a telephone operator for G.E. Telephone in Pawnee, as a real estate tax collector for Pawnee Township for 23 years, at the Dairy Maid in Pawnee and at the Franklin Life Insurance Co. in Springfield.

In her younger years, Betty loved to roller skate. She was a huge fan of Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson, and she had attended several Willie Nelson concerts over the years. She also collected Beanie Babies. Betty loved celebrating her family and friends by sending cards and making cakes for their birthdays and special events. Her family often teased her about owning stock in Hallmark, and they crowned her "Queen of the Hill" on her 69th birthday.

Betty is survived by her son, Eddy D. (husband, Nicholas) Clay, of Springfield; two daughters, Barbara S. (husband, Dean) Underwood of Springfield and Linda L. Johnson of San Antonio, Texas; four grandchildren, Sheila Cutright, Jennifer Johnson, Aimee Beierre and Candy Preston; seven great-grandchildren, Nathan, Melody, Peyton, Casen, Brayden, Jackson and Weston; one sister, Cheryl A. (husband, Terry) Ward, of Pawnee; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Betty's family will meet friends from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, at Curry Funeral Home in Pawnee. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, at Curry Funeral Home, with Rev. Bobby Davis officiating. Burial will follow at Horse Creek Cemetery in Pawnee.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 26 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10004.

Curry Funeral Home in Pawnee is serving the family of Betty Clay. Online condolences may be expressed at www.curryfh.com.