Betty Jean Arnold

Betty Jean Arnold, 90, of Walton, Kentucky, passed away on July 9, 2026, at her home.

She was born on September 14, 1935, in Newport, Kentucky to parents Edward James Lay, Sr. and Bessie Gertrude Lay (Buis). She was raised in Walton, Kentucky and graduated from Walton-Verona High School in 1953. She married Robert Allen Coyle (a/k/a Shorty), from Verona, Kentucky that same year. Betty Jean, as she was known by family and friends, worked at W.T. Grants Department Store in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky in the early 1960's and Bayliss Brothers, Inc., in Cincinnati, Ohio as a cost-accountant beginning in the late 1960’s. She retired from Bayliss Brothers, Inc. at the age of 65 following three decades of dedicated service. She married Kenneth Arnold in (2001) and moved to Burlington, Kentucky. Following his death in 2008, Betty Jean remained in the home they built until August 2024 when she moved to Story Point, a senior care home in Walton.

Throughout much of the 1960's through early 2010, Betty Jean was active in her church, the First Church of God in Erlanger, Kentucky, as a member of the Board of Directors, the church choir and was a Sunday school teacher for many years. She also served in various leadership capacities with the Walton-Verona High School Band Boosters and other fund-raising clubs for the Walton-Verona Independent school system. Betty Jean hosted weekly prayer meetings at her home in Burlington with friends for many years.

Those who know her best describe her as someone who could always be counted upon to help others in need. A caring and loving soul, she believed in the "power of prayer" and always did what she could to assist those less fortunate. She lived her life to the fullest and dedicated her life in service to the Lord.

She is survived by her three sons, Gregory Allen Coyle (wife Leslie Coyle) of Spring Hill, Tennessee, Geoffrey Wayne Coyle (wife Paula Coyle) of Union, Kentucky, Randell Lee Coyle of Union, Kentucky, her sister, Lois Ann Merrell (Lay) of Port Orange, Florida, grandchildren Lauren, Crystal, Cara, Lindsey, Alexandra, Danielle, Justin and Jourdan as well as 9 great grandchildren and a host of very special nieces and nephews.

Betty Jean Arnold was preceded in death by her parents, Edward J. Lay, Sr. (1991), mother, Bessie Gertrude Lay (Buis) (2008), brothers Edward James Lay, Jr. (2005) and Gary Wayne Lay (2017), and husbands Robert Allen Coyle (1999) and Kenneth Arnold (2008).

Visitation Services will be held Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at Floral Hills Funeral Home at 5336 Old Taylor Mill Road, Taylor Mill, Kentucky 41015 between the hours of 11:00am and 1:00pm with the Funeral Service at 1:00pm and burial at 2:00pm.

The family requests in lieu of flowers, monetary donations be made in her memory to First Church of God, 450 Graves Avenue, Erlanger, Kentucky 41018.