A funeral service for Betty Jane Fagan Burr, 86, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, October 23, 2009, at First United Methodist Church in Nacogdoches, Texas. Dr. Bill Gandin, senior pastor, will be officiating, along with the Reverend Meredith Wende, associate pastor. Interment will be at Sunset Memorial Park in Nacogdoches. Betty left us Monday, October 19, 2009, in Nacogdoches. She was born March 10, 1923, in Fort Worth, Texas. She was the daughter of Lewie Lee Fagan of Deport, Texas, and Nona Eola Booker Fagan of Alvarado, Texas. She graduated in 1940 from San Jacinto High School in Houston, Texas. She attended Rice Institute (now Rice University), graduating in 1944. It was at Rice University that she met Jesse Herndon Burr Jr. who would become her husband after he returned from the Pacific in World War II. Betty continued on scholarship to Columbia University in New York City where she obtained a master of science degree in accounting in 1945. After Betty's husband, Herndon, finished his Ph.D. at Rice, they came to Nacogdoches in 1951 where he taught biology and other sciences for 35 years. Betty quickly became involved in many organizations. She was a den mother for the Cub Scouts, very involved in the American Association of University Women, for which she served as president from 1953 until 1955 and then again from 2003 until 2005. In 2006, she was honored by the organization as their Woman and the Year, having been an actively contributing member for more than 50 years. Betty was a very active member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. She served as the president general and treasurer general of the statewide organization and as the chapter president, treasurer and registrar for the local Stone Fort Chapter. Betty was passionate about DRT and all that it stands for in preserving and promoting the history of Texas and the ambassadorship of Texas throughout the world. She was honored to have the privilege of meeting and hosting the queen of England at the Alamo and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts in 1991, while she was serving as president general of the organization. She was also a member of Colonial Dames, Daughters of the American Colonists, United Daughters of 1812 and Daughters of the American Revolution. She was an active member of the American Cut Glass Association, serving as the president of the organization on several occasions. An avid and lifelong student of history, she contributed much to each of these organizations. Betty was inducted into the Nacogdoches Women's Hall of Fame in 2001, in honor of the positive impact she had on the people in her community during her many years of dedicated service. Betty has been a tireless supporter of Millard's Crossing Historical Village, offering guidance and wisdom along with fundraising and financial organization. She was an avid bridge player, belonging to three clubs that began in the 1950s and 1960s. Many child-rearing and daily troubles were sorted out across these bridge tables over the years. Betty supported the arts through her patronage of the Lamp-Lite Theatre and her generosity and service to the Friends of Music at Stephen F. Austin State University. She actively served on the board of Greater East Texas Community Action for several decades, an organization whose mission to serve the community she believed was vital to East Texas. She was a certified public accountant and among the first 25 female CPAs in the state of Texas. She helped blaze the trail for women professionals by becoming one of the first women to be hired by a large national accounting firm. She established the Betty Fagan Burr Scholarship in the accounting department at Stephen F. Austin so young women could pursue the life-long career that served Betty so well and benefited her community so greatly. Betty's friends and the community she served will miss her honesty, integrity, energy and intelligence and her never-ending willingness to offer whatever she had to give to those who had a need. Betty Burr is survived by her son, Lindsay Robbins Burr; her daughter; Nona Burr Donahue and her husband; Jim; and granddaughters; Leah Jane and Serena Louise. She was blessed to have three loving step-grandchildren; Kelly, Jim and Katy Donahue. Also surviving her is grandson, Elijah Ian Burr. Betty was preceded in death by her husband; Jesse Herndon Burr Jr.; and her son, Herndon Hutchinson Burr. Visitation will be from 5 until 7 p.m. Thursday, October 22, 2009, at Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Home. Memorials donations can be made to Betty Fagan Burr Scholarship, c/o Stephen F. Austin State University, P.O Box 13005, SFA Station, Nacogdoches, Texas 75962-3005