Betty Lou Love Cain, 93, a devoted Christian, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother departed this life as she lived it, in peace and in the presence of her beloved family August 13th. Betty was born on April 7, 1922, to Robert Sellers and Eva Brister Love in Itta Bena.

Visitation will be at Glenwood Funeral Home Monday from 5 to 7 p.m. and Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015, at First Baptist Church from 11a.m. until the service at 1 p.m. Interment will follow at Greenlawn Gardens Cemetery. Dr. Matt Buckles will officiate.

Betty grew up in LeFlore County and graduated from Itta Bena High School. She spoke often of her life growing up in the Delta, where she enjoyed playing baseball, shooting marbles and doing many other things a “tomboy” would do.

She helped her grandfather “invent” things, which later served as the basis for her creative mind. After high school graduation, she entered Sunflower Junior College and then attended Delta State College, where she played clarinet in the band.

She moved to Vicksburg in 1942 and started training to become a medical technologist at the old Vicksburg Sanitarium, which later became Mercy Hospital and Street Clinic. She worked at both the Crawford Street and McAuley Drive locations for over 45 years, where she developed many lifetime friendships.

She spent all of her professional career in the lab faithfully supporting the fine staff of doctors and specialists. She especially enjoyed working in hematology and spent many hours studying cultures and helping diagnose blood illnesses and diseases until her retirement in 1987. She was a charter member of the Mississippi State Society of Medical Technologists, serving on various committees. She was an emeritus member of the American Society of Medical Technologists.

On Nov. 11, 1945, she met the love of her life, a recently discharged soldier, George Q Cain Sr., on a blind date and they became “Mr. and Mrs.” six months later. They were married for over 68 years.

Betty loved the outdoors. She spent countless hours working in the yard on her landscaping projects. She was specifically proud of her azaleas and day lilies. She loved digging in the dirt and clearing nature trails for her “adventures” in the woods behind the house and on the farm.

She enjoyed paddling their boat around private lakes in the Vicksburg area as her husband mastered his fly-fishing skills.

While he enjoyed the art of furniture making, she helped finish the projects with her knack for details and artistry. Many of her woodcarvings and beautiful paintings are in the homes of family members and friends throughout the U.S.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Robert Sellers Love and Eva Brister Love of Itta Bena and Vicksburg. She was also predeceased by her brothers, Robert Sellers Love Jr. and Eugene Foster Love.

She is survived by her son, George Q. Cain Jr. (Cindy) of Clinton; daughter, Susan Carol Stark (Bill) of Marion Ala.; “adopted daughter,” Carolyn Walden (Jim) of Starkville; grandchildren, Courtney Cain Skelton (Casey) of Starkville, Tripp Cain (Marlee) of Greenville, Brittany Wilson (John Michael) of Clinton, Kayla Chandler (Bennett) of Flowood and Katie Stephenson (Tommy) of Memphis; seven great-grandchildren, Walker and Tucker Skelton, Sellers, Anna Love and Tatum Cain and Ryder and Rhodes Wilson; and a sister-in-law, Dorothy Carson of Omaha, Neb.; and nieces and nephews.

Betty was a longtime member of First Baptist Church and loved being part of the Deborah Sunday school class and Joy Fellowship. In the early 80s, she started a newsletter on a manual typewriter to minister to the homebound and elderly. She continued this until 2013.

The family would like to give special thanks to her hospice team and nurse, Kim Cain; her caregivers Amy Goodnight, Jean Rampy, Jackie Rogers and Elizabeth and Rusty Wicker and to her many faithful friends, as well as her extended family at First Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorials be made to First Baptist Church Medical Ministry or St Jude Hospital.