Reta Ann (Yerby) Vanbebber

Date of Birth:             February 20, 1936

Date of Death:           November 10, 2023

Reta Ann (Yerby) Vanbebber entered into her heavenly rest on Friday, November 10, 2023. She was 87 years old.

Services will be at Mulkey-Bowles-Montgomery Funeral Home in Denton on Tuesday, November 14, at 1:00 p.m. with visitation from noon until 1:00 p.m. Graveside services will be held at Elmwood Cemetery in Bowie, Texas, at 3:30 p.m. the same day.

Reta was born to Leslie Lee and Georgia Lee (Nichols) Yerby on February 20, 1936, in Stratford, Texas. The family moved to Bowie, Texas, when she was 12, and she attended Bowie schools until she graduated from High School in 1954.

She met the love of her life, Ernest William Vanbebber, her junior year of high school, and they were married on Wednesday, June 3, 1953. Reta and Ernest had two children: Sherryl and Craig. She was a long-time member of the First Baptist Church of Bowie and the First Baptist Church of Denton, Texas. Reta was a devoted Christian her entire life, and her abiding faith was the foundation of a life well lived.

She began her work career in 1966 in the public school system in Bowie, where she worked as a secretary at East Ward Elementary. When the family moved to Denton in 1971, Reta took a secretarial position at Sam Houston Elementary. She was elected President of the Denton Educational Secretaries Association in 1974.

In 1974, she was selected to be the new administrative assistant to the Superintendent of the Denton Public Schools. She remained in that position until her retirement on November 30, 1995. In her 21 years in the Administration Building at Denton ISD, Reta served with four superintendents: Dr. James Benjamin, Dr. Robert T. McGee, Dr. Albert Thomas and Dr. Tim Sonnenberg. Reta also served for many years as the secretary for the Denton ISD School Board. The Denton ISD declared November 29, 1995, "Reta Vanbebber Day" in Denton schools, and presented her with a plaque commemorating the honor.

Reta and Ernest moved to North Richland Hills, Texas, in 2007, and her beloved husband passed away February 14, 2008. She is also preceded in death by her parents, Leslie and Georgia Lee Yerby.

Reta is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Sherryl and Tim Lynch of Idaho, and her son and daughter-in-law Craig and Sherry Vanbebber of North Richland Hills.

Grandchildren include Danielle Lynch of Idaho, Tyler Lynch of California, Austin Vanbebber of North Richland Hills, and Hope McCloud and husband Garrett of Mansfield, Texas. Great grandchildren include R.C. Ramos and Caleb Lynch.

All of her grandchildren and great grandchildren adored their "Nana," and she left a lasting legacy of faith and love with her family and friends that will continue on for generations.