Betty Lou Staggers passed away peacefully on August 11, 2026, in Medford, Oregon, just six days after celebrating her 101st birthday.

Born Betty Lou Hassell on August 5, 1925, in Trenton, Tennessee, to Bluford and Gertrude Hassell, Betty Lou showed remarkable promise from an early age. She graduated from Clarksville High School in Clarksville, Tennessee, at just 15 years old. While in high school, she served as secretary and treasurer of her junior class.

Betty Lou continued her education at Austin Peay, where she was active in campus life and went on to earn her bachelor's degree. Among the clubs and organizations in which she participated, she served on the Student Council and was a reporter for The All State, the college newspaper.

While living in Clarksville, Betty Lou attended a dance where she met James Rex Staggers Sr., a young serviceman stationed at nearby Fort Campbell. That chance meeting began a love story that would shape the rest of their lives. They married on January 29, 1944, in Clarksville. Throughout their life together, Betty Lou was deeply loved and adored by James, and together they built a family that would grow to span generations.

While living in Tennessee, Betty Lou worked as a schoolteacher before devoting herself to raising her family. Betty Lou and James enjoyed an active social life and especially enjoyed playing bridge together with friends.

In 1966, Betty Lou and James moved their family to California. There, she continued her life as a devoted homemaker and later cared for her elderly mother, Gertrude. In 1993, Betty Lou and James moved to Oregon, where Betty Lou would make her home for the remainder of her life.

Betty Lou was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and her faith was a part of the long and remarkable life she shared with her family and those around her. Betty Lou's 100th birthday was a joyous celebration of a remarkable milestone. Family and friends gathered to honor her, with loved ones traveling from as far away as Alaska to be there. Her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and many friends came together to celebrate a century of memories, family, and love.

Just days before her passing, Betty Lou celebrated her 101st birthday surrounded by close family, including her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It was a final birthday spent with those she loved and those who loved her.

Betty Lou was preceded in death by her beloved husband, James Rex Staggers Sr., and her son, James Rex Staggers Jr.

She is survived by her daughters, Sally and Susie; sons-in-law Roger Barnes, Dave Griess, and Michael Holmes; daughter-in-law Geri Staggers; her grandchildren, Jennifer and her husband, Ron, Travis and his wife, Sari, Patrick (PJ) and his wife, Lea, and Sarah; and her great-grandchildren, including Aidan, Ariella, Wesley, Avery, and Logan. She also leaves behind extended family, dear friends, and generations of people whose lives were touched by her during her extraordinary 101 years.

Betty Lou's was a life measured not simply by its remarkable length, but by the family she raised, the people she cared for, the love she shared, and the generations who will carry her memory forward.