Elizabeth Lee "Betty" Mavers Fluegge, 90, of Whitewater, passed away the morning of October 3, 2022, at the Lutheran Home just a few weeks after sustaining an injury.
She was born November 27, 1931, in her childhood home located just four miles south-west of Gordonville, in the unincorporated town once known as Houck in Cape Girardeau County. Betty was the eldest of three daughters born to William A.R. "Willie" and Edna H. (Hamrick Bohnsack) Mavers. In 1944, the family moved one mile south to the family farm where Betty remained until recently. Betty was baptized at Zion United Methodist Church, Gordonville. She and Wilman H. Fluegge were married April 11, 1958, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Tilsit, Missouri. Wilman passed away March 10, 2005. In her years at Immanuel, Betty completed confirmation, served as a member of the Altar Guild, taught Sunday school, and remained a member until her passing.
Betty would tell you, "To get to school, I walked one mile both ways up the hill" to attend the old, one-room Poplar Ridge schoolhouse. After 8th grade, she began working at the International Shoe Factory in Jackson to contribute extra income for the family. In the early 1970's, she began working alongside her sister in her business at the Frontier Food Mart in Fruitland. With the addition of the Frontier Restaurant in 1982, Betty moved next door as the cook. She was known for her kettle cooked beef, chicken and dumplings, stockpiles of pies, and the Friday night catfish. In 1986, Betty followed her sister to Gordonville Grocery and Gas and remained there through all the succession of owners until its closure in 2004.
When Betty was not away working, she was with her husband and son, raising cattle, baling hay, driving farm machinery, gardening, and canning on the family farm. She continued to look after her parents into their golden years as they lived nearby.
Loving survivors include her son, Ronald W. (Wilma) Fluegge of Whitewater; daughter, Lisa (Collin) McClanahan of Gordonville; four grandchildren, Anna E. Kangas of Benton, Mo., Daniel M. Fluegge of Whitewater, Troy-Lee C. and Lauren E. McClanahan of Gordonville; two great-granddaughters, Alyssa T. and Cara M. Kangas of Benton, Mo., one sister Wilma Langston of Oak Ridge, and brother-in-law Tom Jones of Pocahontas.
Along with her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her sister Vanita M. Jones, brother-in-law Gerald Langston, and an infant granddaughter.
Friends may call from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, October 6, 2022, at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson, with the funeral service Friday, October 7, 2022, at the funeral home with the Rev. Mark Boettcher, officiating. Burial will be at the Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery in Tilsit.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests you please donate to the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery Fund or the American Heart Association.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by clicking on the Tribute tab above Betty's obituary page at www.mccombsfuneralhome.com
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