Betty Jo passed peacefully on Friday, February 20th, 2026. She is survived by her husband Gary Wayne Howard of Avondale, AZ, and extended family.

After high school, Betty Jo attended Northwest Missouri State University. She began her teaching career in Missouri, then moved to Phoenix, AZ in the mid-seventies. She was an educator for over 40 years, working a majority of her career at Tumbleweed School in the Washington Elementary School District in Phoenix, AZ. As an educator, she was enthusiastic, kind, and creative. She was well-loved by her fellow teachers and the many students whose lives she touched. Betty Jo had a wonderful sense of humor, a sharp wit, and loved a good joke. She loved animals and was devoted to her many pets over the years.

Betty Jo was dearly loved and will be fondly remembered by her family and friends in both Maryville, Missouri and Phoenix, Arizona.

Additional surviving family members include her cousins, Kack (Gloria) Miller, Blue Springs, Missouri, Carole (Jeff) Funston, Maryville, Missouri, Anne (Larry) Amthor, Tarkio, Missouri.  She was preceded in death by her parents, Paul E. and Effie E. (Underwood) Fields and her brother, Paul Douglas Fields.

Graveside services 2pm Tuesday, March 10th at Miriam Cemetery under the care of Price Funeral Home. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.

A Memorial Service is Scheduled Monday March 9, 2026 at the West Resthaven Funeral Home 6450 W Northern Ave. Glendale, AZ 85301 beginning at 10am.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Humane Society at  americanhumane.org or the New Nodaway Humane Society in Maryville.