May 29 2022
Today is Betty’s birthday so we wanted to post an update. It has been about eight months since Betty’s accident, a long and hard eight months. World news continues to be disheartening, Betty would be disappointed. She would not approve of the war in the Ukraine, she would be upset about the latest mass shootings, and she would revile at the thought of overturning Roe and unwinding decades of social progress.
In closer circles, a steady stream of bad news would be broken up by a few moments of delight and giggles. She would have loved to celebrate Bob and Carol’s 50th Anniversary. She would be overjoyed about the arrival of baby Clare Elizabeth (while simultaneously mad that the pandemic still makes it hard to travel). She would have laughed her way through the Easter egg fun with Winnie and Margaret, and think it endearing that the stickers from that day are still on the sliding glass door.
Her home at Samish is flourishing green now. Betty would have spent the past few months tirelessly gardening – preparing seeds and starts and soil for spring planting. (Dad has been doing a pretty good job keeping things going though, respect.) She and dad would be debating whether it’s safe enough with COVID to go on the annual fishing trip this summer. (She’d want to go if only so dad could catch some since she caught all the fish last time.) And this Memorial weekend we would be out shrimping because that’s what you do when you’re Betty and the season just opened. Sashimi, Szechuan, grilled, and pizza too, a regular shrimpfest would be underway.
Today is Betty’s birthday so we will eat spot prawns for dinner in her honor. Spot prawns are Betty’s desert island food. We miss her terribly and wish she was here to enjoy them with us.
We will post another update when we hopefully have a plan for an in-person celebration of Betty’s life and legacy. In the meantime, she would want us all to take care and enjoy each moment with fresh food and wine and family and friends.
October 2021
Tragically, Betty passed away on Saturday October 2 2021 due to a horrific accident. We are devastated. She was the very foundation of our household, my best friend, my partner and my confidant in all life matters. It will take a while to process the enormity of this loss and to figure out a path forward. We grieve not only for ourselves but also for the many friends that have expressed their sympathies and feelings of loss as well.
As it seems untenable in this era of COVID we are choosing not to have an organized gathering at this time but hope to have a memorial/celebration of Betty when the pall of this pandemic has lifted.
Betty was loved and respected by many more people than I can count. To me she was one of the purest human beings to walk the planet. She made a huge impact in my daughter’s life and development, she was fiercely loyal to her family and as I said above she was my partner and confidant in all life matters. I have never been more comfortable around anyone else in my life.
Although this may be woefully insufficient, Carol (Betty’s sister), my daughter Amy and I have put together a slide show that attempts to capture the things that Betty treasured most: family, friends, gathering and preparing food, the outdoors and her pets. As we put this together it became apparent that everything is compatible with pets.
Thank you all for your thoughts and may one day our hearts be healed.
John