Betty R. Pearigen
MEMPHIS - Betty Ruth Rhodes Pearigen, 93, passed away Saturday, April 6, 2024. Betty was born on February 9, 1931, in Little Rock, Arkansas, and was raised by her parents Pearl Baldwin Rhodes and William “Dusty” Rhodes in Memphis, Tennessee. She graduated from Tech High School in 1948 and immediately entered nursing school at Baptist Memorial Hospital. While in nursing school, Betty met the love of her life, William “Bill” Harris Pearigen, Jr., a student at the University of Tennessee School of Pharmacy, whom she married in 1951. Together they would raise four sons, all while working full-time in their respective professions. Betty worked in both hospitals and physicians’ offices during her career as a nurse. Her caring manner and professional skill ultimately led her to serve as the head nurse and office manager for one of the leading cardiologists in the South. She also served as an officer in the nurses Auxiliary Association. Even after retirement, Betty was often called upon to return to the clinic or office to lend a helping hand or mentor younger nurses.
Remarkably, Betty’s meaningful work in health care never compromised her loving attention to her family, home and friends. Daily, she prepared both breakfasts and dinners for her family, and she and Bill created a home that was a favorite gathering place for the life-long friendships forged by the couple and their children. With its billiard table and swimming pool, the Pearigen home was the place to be as the boys grew up, and it never became an “empty nest” because future generations of family, friends, and neighborhood children never stopped visiting.
Betty and Bill enjoyed travel and loved their neighbors and friends, including their decades-long bridge club. They were avid fans of the University of Memphis’ athletics program and were season-ticket holders for Tigers football for 58 years. They were members of the University’s Highland One Hundred Club and supporters of the University of Memphis Scholarship
Fund and the University of the South. They were also devoted supporters of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Christian Health Center, and Colonial Park United Methodist Church, where they were among its earliest members and most faithful Sunday School teachers.
Betty’s greatest pleasure came from being with Bill, her husband of sixty-six years, and their sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, and granddogs. As a wife, mother, and grandmother, Betty’s love was unconditional, and the joy she gave to and received from her family immeasurable. Known as a person of compassion, humility, and faith, all who knew Betty, including the staff at her health-care residences in recent years, especially the Villages of Germantown, were touched by her personal kindness and by her appreciation for the kindness of others, as well as her attentiveness to her fellow residents with challenging healthcare needs.
Betty was preceded in death by her parents and husband. She is survived by her sons William “Hart” Harris Pearigen, III (Cindy), Robert Wesley Pearigen (Phoebe), Philip Barton Pearigen (Stephanie), and Paul Daniel Pearigen (Kim); grandchildren William Austin Pearigen, Jessica Pearigen Barnes (Brian), Carolyn Grace Pearigen, Robert Wesley Pearigen, Jr. (fiancé Ally), and Aidan Rhodes Pearigen; step-grandchildren Ryan Weakley (Christine), Meghan Stafford (Brad), and Kelly Weakley; great-grandchild Harper Weakley; and many nieces and nephews. Visitation will be Saturday, April 13, from 9:00 until 10:00 a.m. at Colonial Park United Methodist Church, with a memorial service at 10:00 a.m. Following the service, a graveside burial will be held at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery. Betty’s family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to Colonial Park United Methodist Church, 5330 Park Avenue, Memphis, TN, 38119, or a charity of your choice.