UPDATED WITH VIDEO: Area grandmother gets special recognition, Citizen of Year

Stepping into Betty Whitehead’s Broseley home is like entering a warm cocoon to visit with a friend.

Whitehead, 86, lives in a log home built by her late husband, Bud, on property they bought 47 years ago. She’s decorated it with family photos, a lifetime of memories and a warmth her friends and family call love.

Whitehead recently was named Broseley Citizen of the Year by Modern Woodmen and was the grand marshal in the community’s annual homecoming parade.

Talking about the honor, Whitehead said, “I felt unworthy, but it made me feel so special.”

Until COVID-19, Whitehead was the greeter at the Broseley Senior Center. She has a pacemaker and is waiting for more surgery. She’s hoping to return to the center once the crisis is over. She admits she’d like a new apron for Christmas, so she’d be ready to return to work.

When volunteering, “I meet them at the door with a hug and a greeting ‘glad to have you here,’” she explained.

She helped if anything needed to be done, as well as filled tea glasses. At times, she prayed for specific diners, along with giving out hugs and drinks.

“It is such a wonderful place,” the great-grandmother shared. “Having someone to talk to, listen and care is important.”

Betty Whitehead smiles as she talks about her lifeDAR/Barbara Ann Horton

Whitehead’s late husband spent four years in the Navy before they married Dec. 25, 1956. He then served 16 years in the Air Force.

The family, which includes sons, Ed and Mike, traveled across the country during Bud’s time in the service. She was 22 years old when they married. She and Bud lacked three months of being married 55 years when he died Oct. 19, 2011.

Whitehead grew up in the Bernie area, while her husband was raised near the Bethany Church.

She began mothering others when her own mother died. Whitehead, who was 12, had two younger brothers. She stepped in and helped her father with the boys, cooking and chores.

“My brothers are more like my children,” she said. “We had the best daddy, and the best lives we could have had.”

She especially enjoyed school and graduated as valedictorian in her class at Bernie High School.

“School was my joy,” she said.

Before she married, Whitehead worked at a small newspaper in Bernie.

Once Bud retired from the military, she worked at all the little stores in the area and helped out at the post office for 14 years.

“That’s how I got to know so many people,” she said.

Often, she helped small businesses when one of the owners or staff was sick.

“You have to have someone you can trust,” she said.

Whitehead says “my occupation is being a mother.”

After nurturing their two children, the Whiteheads helped raise two grandchildren from the time they were 3 and 4 years old. She keeps busy with great-grandchildren, baking them treats, giving their hugs and attending their school activities.

As she goes about her life, Whitehead seems to become the family and friend everyone needs.