Jonelle Cochran Bettles

Our beloved Jonelle, affectionately known as JoJo to her granddaughters, & Phitter to her husband, passed away on January 2, 2021. Born August 23, 1933 to Walter & Vernelle Cochran in Shady Shores (Denton) Texas. She is preceeded in death by her husband William Bettles, & stepdaughter Susan Fox. Surviving are her Aunt, Ruby Herd, sister Nita Thurman, daughters, Laura Blanc, Kathryn Sessions, granddaughters, Lindsey Sessions & Kelly Carroll, stepsons, Tom Bettles, Stephen Bettles & David Bettles, stepdaughters Barbara St. John, Jeanne O'Leary, & Carol Murphy and a multitude of step grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Raised as a Texas farm girl in the tiny town of Shady Shores, she acquired a love for horses that she carried with her throughout her life. After completing studies at the North Texas Demonstration School, she graduated from TX Women's University with a degree in Secretarial Sciences. She and her first husband moved from Texas to Caracas, Venezuela where she lived for two years and became fluent in Spanish while working in a local library. She then moved to Rancho Santa Fe, CA where she fell in love with local real estate developer William Bettles who she married in 1967. They remained married until Bills death in 2016, nearly 50 years. During those years she and Bill were busy designing & building both office buildings and residences in California and Texas.

She & Bill traveled all over Europe, Central and South America and lived in Spain for a year, however Mexico was their favorite destination. They both had a passion for the history, culture & the cuisine, inspiring them to open a Mexican restaurant in Waikiki, Hawaii called Pedro's Pantry. She ran the kitchen and always joked about those days saying "don't fire the dishwasher until his shift is over!" She brought her talents back to RSF where she and Bill would throw the best "fiestas" in California (the food and margaritas were legendary) at their beautiful "hacienda" which they built. It was a labor of love, they traveled throughout Mexico buying doors, tile, and special treasures for their dream home. It would become the site of many family gatherings & celebrations.

Jonelle enjoyed spending many days with her good friends playing tennis and she had a mean cross court forehand! She passed her passion for the game onto her daughter Kathy & granddaughters. She enjoyed afternoons playing dominoes with girlfriends, always accompanied by champagne, & fantastic cheeses & salamis!

Another passion of hers was gardening & she created beautiful flower gardens for the hacienda. Her favorites were orchids, she had a large collection which she took meticulous care of. Along with gardening she loved to needlepoint and became very proficient at the art, at first buying canvases then creating her own. Her lovely tapestries adorned the walls of their hacienda.

Always laughing, always singing, her beauty was breath taking and her personality infectious. But those who knew her well were well aware that she was the true definition of small but mighty!

Everyone who knew her loved her and everyone who loved her will miss her. Private burials & memorials will take place in Shiloh Cemetery, Shady Shores TX, & Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside, CA.