Betty Trunnell

Graveside Service:

Saturday, October 22, 2022

1:00 pm

College Hill Cemetery, Lebanon IL.

Betty L. Trunnell, (nee Roland), of Collinsville, IL, passed away October 17, 2022.

Born to Maggie Belle (Duncan) and John Truman Roland of Poplar Bluff, MO on April 4, 1934, the seventh of eight children (Robert Otho, William Franklin, Nola Mae, Emma Lee, Bryl, John Jr. and Flora Gene). Betty married Thomas E. Trunnell, on May 1, 1954, and he preceded her in death, October 25 , 2013.

Betty was born in a small two room log house by a creek next to the Mark Twain National Forest outside Poplar Bluff, MO. Her early days were spent playing in that creek, climbing in those trees and learning what it meant to be a family. She and her family moved from the “Little Log House” to the “Big Log House” nearby that would be home. She, along with her sisters Nola Mae, Emma Lee, Bryl, and Flora Gene would become known simply as the “Roland Girls” to many locals.  Betty was active in the 4H club where she learned many of the skills she would later put into practice in making a home for her own family. She attended Poplar Bluff High school, and upon graduating, worked for a time as a telephone operator, in Michigan, before returning home to Poplar Bluff.

When she married Tom in 1954, the young couple moved to St. Louis.  They would eventually settle in Illinois, where they built each of the three houses in which they lived, passing each one on to family members as the next was built. Betty and Tom would welcome a son into their home in 1963. In 1973 the family began construction on another home just outside Lebanon, IL. The family then moved to Collinsville in 1986 where she lived until her death.

Always willing to share her knowledge about quilting, vegetable gardening or canning, Betty was a teacher, if you cared to listen and learn. She could sew a quilt or shingle a house with equal skill and attention to detail. She enjoyed the outdoors and would often take camping trips in and around southeast Missouri with her family.  She put in many years of volunteer work in the public school, often served as a room mother, and went on countless field trips during her son’s school years. She was always there working in the background when help was needed for family and friends alike. In her final years, she wrote a series of memoirs that were personalized for each of her nephews and nieces sharing her recollections of family events, the things she believed and advice where it was needed.

Throughout her life Betty believed in family, neighbor helping neighbor and faith. Always willing to open her heart and her home to family in need, she will be missed by those she touched with her humor, her advice, and her stories of family history.

She is survived by her son, Timothy Trunnell; grandson, Collin Trunnell; daughter-in-law, Sue (Bissett) Trunnell; sister, Flora Gene Stotz; and many dear nieces and nephews.

Graveside Service:  Saturday, October 22, 2022, 1:00 PM, College Hill Cemetery, Lebanon, IL

Meridith Funeral Home, Lebanon, IL.