Betty Hummer Slade

Betty Slade June 8, 1926 - February 21, 2011 Betty Hummer Slade, 84, passed away peacefully at home Monday, February 21, 2011. A Memorial Services will be 11:00 a.m., Friday, February 25, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Chapel with the Rev. Curtis Holland officiating. Visitation will be 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Thursday, February 24, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Garden Room. Betty was born June 8, 1926, in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, to Reuben and Fannie Hummer. She graduated Ephrata High School in 1944. As a cadet in the Army Air Forces Fighter Command Aircraft Warning Services, she was a spotter for enemy aircraft during WWII. She graduated the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in 1947 and worked as an RN at University Hospital in Philadelphia, where she met and married Harry W. Slade, M.D., in 1950. They moved to Waco in April 1957, where he opened a neurosurgical practice, and she devoted herself to raising their children and involvement in community activities. She was a member of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church and the Mixon Sunday School Class, Harston Study Club, Kappa Delta Sorority, the Women's Auxiliary to the McLennan County Medical Society, the Thursday Group, and several other civic organizations. Her passions also included gourmet cooking, needlework, playing bridge, gardening, traveling and supporting the Baylor Bears. She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Richard and Eugene Hummer; sister, Floy Thatcher; as well as her granddaughter, Danielle Bennetzen. She is survived by her husband, Harry; children, Theodore L. Slade, M.D., and wife, Jennifer, of Longview; Cynthia A. Bennetzen and husband, Gregory, of Conroe; Steven L. Slade, and Christina L. Slade, AuD, both of Houston; grandchildren, Jeffrey M. Slade, J.D. and wife, Kimberly, of Dallas; James Douglas Slade and wife, Laura, of Fort Worth; Benjamin M. Bennetzen and Christopher M. Bennetzen, both of Conroe; great grandchildren, James and Jackson Slade of Dallas; also her sisters, June Haldeman of Ephrata, and Janet Godshall and husband, Karl, of Tom's River, New Jersey; and numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to the institution of your choice. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.WilkirsonHatchBailey.com.