Betty Jean Province, 86, of Washington, IL, passed away at 4:45pm Sunday Feb 22, 2015, at her home in Grand Victorian Place. Betty was born Betty Jean Adams on Sept 8th, 1928 in Irondale, MO. Her parents were Edward and Ann Adams. Her brother was Albert Clayton "Bud" Adams, who always referred to her as "Jinx". She was raised in Irondale and cherished her memories of life there with her family and friends. Betty married Richard Benton "Bose" Province on Jan 5th, 1947 after his return from service at Camp Pendleton, CA. Betty graduated from Irondale High School and was valedictorian of her class. She received the Regents? Scholarship from Southeast Missouri State Teachers College, Cape Girardeau, MO, but decided . She worked at Nepper Fleece Photography as a retoucher applying oil paints to produce color photos from black and whites. After her marriage to Richard, they moved to Columbia, MO where Richard attended University of Missouri and Betty was secretary to the director of horsemanship at Stephens College. After the birth of their first child, Richard, she took on a new career as a stay at home mom to care for her family. Upon Richard?s graduation from Mizzou, they moved to Waynesville, MO and later to St Louis. While there Richard worked for the Ernst and Young accounting firm. Their second child, Marilyn, was born during their time in St Louis. The family eventually moved to Taylorville, IL where Richard worked for Sangamon Company. Their third child, Bryan, was born while in Taylorville. After raising their family, Richard and Betty moved to Washington, IL to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Betty always enjoyed growing flowers to bring beauty to each of their homes. She enjoyed movies and especially westerns. She was an avid reader and loved the novel "Shepherd of the Hills". One of her favorite pastimes was to play pinochle to the wee hours of the morning with family. Betty loved family reunions both at the Irondale Homecoming and at Lake of the Ozarks. Betty is survived by her husband of 68 years, Richard; her children, Marilyn Ann (Bill) Bates of Washington, IL; Bryan Edward (Susan) Province of Peoria, IL; her daughter-in-law, Jenna Lynn Province of Lynwood, IL; nephews Steve Adams and Jeff Adams; her grandchildren, Genevieve Shannon (Mitch) Taylor of Griffith, IN; Adam Christopher (Jamie) Province of Chicago, IL; Kathryn Joanne (Jennifer) Province-Garza of Hammond, IN; William Benton (June) Bates of Franklin, NC; Aaron Ryan Province of Peoria, IL; Anna My Province of Peoria, IL; great grandchildren Kelsey Nicole Taylor of Griffith, IN; Karli Paige Taylor of Griffith, IN; Simone Renee Bates of Franklin, NC; Corinne Elise Bates of Franklin, NC; Julian Miles Province of Chicago, IL; and one great great grandchild, Aubriana Lee Cook of Griffith, IN. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother "Bud", her son Richard Adams Province, and one grandson Ryan Matthew Bates. A celebration of life service for Betty will be held on Saturday, Feb 28th, 2015 at 11:00am at Faith Chapel in Crossroads United Methodist Church, 1420 N. Main, Washington, IL. The family is planning to perform the song "I?ll Fly Away" and invites anyone with a guitar or voice to join in. Visitation will be held one hour before the service. Graveside services will follow at Glendale Cemetery, Washington, IL. Officiating will be Pastor Tom Goodell. Reception will be held at Crossroads Church following graveside services. Mason-White Funeral Home will be handling the services. They can be contacted for questions at 309-444-2634. In leu of flowers, donations may be made to Grand Victorian Place or to the Ryan Mathew Bates Memorial Playground at Crossroads United Methodist Church. For more information or to sign the online guest book go to http://www.masonfuneralhomes.com/. Betty was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother. She left many pearls of wisdom for her family. One of her sayings was "You can catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.". A testament to her sweet disposition and loving ways.