CLARKSDALE, Miss. - Betty Lou Evans Streett, entered into rest on Wednesday, March 12, 2008, at her home surrounded by her daughters in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Funeral services will be held Monday, March 17, 2008 at 12:00 PM in the Chapel of Elliott Sons Funeral Home, 1134 Telfair Street, Augusta, Georgia 30901 with The Very Reverend Robert Fain officiating. Burial will be in Westover Memorial Park. Betty can best be described as a woman of many diverse accomplishments, interests, and talents. She lived life to the fullest and was never in such a hurry she couldn't stop and smell the flowers. She received a Bachelor's of English from Augusta State University and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Tennessee, and became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Betty served as Director of Alcohol and Drug Services for Region One Mental Health for 18 years. While there she brought her dream to reality, providing the highest quality drug and alcohol treatment to those suffering from the disease of addiction and to their loved ones. She expanded the services of Fairland Center for adults, offering residential substance abuse treatment not only to adults throughout the state, but to expectant and parenting women. At the time Fairland Center opened, it was the only such facility in the Southeastern United States to offer such services. In addition to Fairland Center, she conceived an idea for a treatment center for adolescents located in the country, having a family-like atmosphere, and populated with pets of all kinds, including horses, sheep, ducks, cats, parrots, rabbits, and plenty of dogs. The result was Sunflower Landing Treatment Center. Both centers, located in Dublin, MS, are recognized statewide as two of the state's paramount centers for treatment of addiction and offer cutting edged scientific and spiritually-based approaches to such treatment. Betty was well known nationally for her research and writing in the alcohol and drug treatment field. She authored numerous books, pamphlets, and research articles on the roles of disordered brain chemistry, addiction, and spirituality. She wrote under the penname of Dorothy Marie England. Two of her best known books are Twelve Steps to Loving Yourself and Smoke and Mirrors: The Magical World of Chemical Dependency. Both books have sold nationally and internationally and have touched the lives of countless individuals and their families suffering from the disease of addiction. Betty also co-authored several children's books and a murder mystery with her treasured grandsons, Tommy and Jack. The magnitude of Betty's healing influence on those in the throes of addiction is immeasurable. She devoted a large portion of her life to reaching out to these individuals through her love, support, and wisdom. Betty's interests were expansive. She loved all animals and had a menagerie of them, including four dogs, Winifred, Wilhelmina, Pippi, and Buster, and a wonderful pig, Dorothy Marie. Betty also loved gardening and spent many hours in her yard and her organic vegetable garden. When Betty was not spending her spare time with her pets or in her garden, she was most likely to be found traveling the world. Her travels brought her to many exotic places, including England, France, Greece, Egypt, the Holy Land, the Grenadines, and the West Indies. She openly shunned the frills of high luxury cruise liners, which she called "foo-foo ships"; she preferred to sail instead on windjammer sailing ships where passengers were also crew members. While on these no-frill cruises, Betty would help sail the ships when at sea and snorkel the crystal blue waters of the far-away oceans when anchored. Betty was also active in the Episcopal Church, where she was a lay-minister. Out of all Betty's many characteristics and traits, it was her spiritual nature that stood out most. Going hand in hand with this was her deep sense of humor. One of her many sayings, all of which were well-known to those who knew her, was "Nothing is serious unless it separates me from the love of God, and nothing can separate me from the love of God, therefore nothing is serious!" Those who were fortunate enough to cross the path of Betty's gentle spirit in life were left with souls forever enriched by the experience. If so desired, memorial contributions may be made to the Betty Streett Memorial Fund, Sunflower Landing & Fairland Center, c/o David Cook, Region 1-Mental Health, P. O. Box 1046, Clarksdale, Mississippi 38614. The family will receive friends from 11:00 - 12:00 Noon at the funeral home.

The Augusta Chronicle-March 16, 2008