Betty Lee Figgins

Figgins, Betty Lee, 86, died Thursday, April 2, 2009. Memorial service 10: 30 A.M., Monday, April 6, Downing Lahey Mortuary East. Betty was preceded in death by her husbands, Carl E. Figgins and Paul Eugene Symes, sister, Mary Waskiewicz and mother, Eva Brown. Betty was born in Atlanta, KS in 1923 to Eva and Lee Mills. She married Paul Eugene Symes in 1941, whom she met at a Bob Wills dance. Gene was a casualty at the Battle of the Bulge, January 1, 1945. As a young widow, Betty joined the war effort, driving a large truck at Strother Field, but first had to conquer a stick shift. She was a master gardener, quilter and ceramicist. She leaves a collection of beautifully painted Santas to her children and grandchildren. She was a woman of many interests. Betty and her sister, Mary, began bowling in Wichita Womens leagues in the 1940s. They enjoyed over fifty years of teams, friends, and tournaments trips. Friendships developed during those early years lasted a lifetime. Betty is survived by daughters, Constance Remmert of Wichita and Pamela Cawood (William) of San Antonio, TX; step-children, Richard Figgins (Christina) of Seattle, WA and Carla Figgins; grandchildren, Christopher Remmert of Evansville, IN, Colleen Yoder (Harold) of Homewood, AL, Catherine and Amy Remmert of Wichita, Jeremy Cawood (Kristi) and Tara May (Pete) of Andale, KS, Brian, Audrey, Emma and Elliott Figgins, Erica and Ian Guile; great-grandchildren, Olivia and Mary Catherine Riley Remmert, Cody, Kennedy and Breckyn Cawood and Morgan, Evan, Makenna and Emerson May; nieces and nephews, Julia Jones and Jim Waskiewicz (Patricia) of Boulder, CO and Paul Waskiewicz (Janet) of Greenbelt, MD. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made in the name of Cody Cawood (great-grandson), to the Kansas Society for Crippled Children, 106 W. Douglas, S-900, Wichita, KS, 67202 or Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice, 313 S. Market, Wichita, KS, 67202.