Hasta Luego, Aunt Betty

It's a bittersweet thing to tell of our dear, sweet Aunt Betty's passing. We rejoice at her reunion with Uncle Bob, and her family members who've gone before her but we weep at her leaving us behind; kind of like when someone takes the vacation of a lifetime and you aren't invited. Yea, it's like that...

I would love to tell you what Aunt Betty's love has meant in my life but I would need more RAM in my computer. If I were writing it by hand it would take reams of paper. So I'll whittle it down to the most meaningful events. Others will have much to say as well but in the end we will all finish with the same thing..."Aunt Betty loved me the best. I was her favorite niece/nephew!" However, the difference between me and all the others? I knew without a doubt that I was her favorite!

As far back as I can remember I was the person who Aunt Betty came to for a perm or a hairdo. I can hear her now, "Oh, just slap it up!" I was in high school so I'm not sure how it came to be that I was the one doing her hair. It certainly wasn't because I knew what I was doing but I did her hair for years.

She also knew of my love for art and when she started teaching school I would be the one who did all her drawings for her class. My mom caught on to that too and pretty soon I was doing the art for both of them. I could have made a ton of money but I didn't have the heart to take a dime. I loved doing it for both of them and it was something I did well. It was one of the ways I could pay them both back for the trouble I would eventually cause them both.

When I entered college I rebelled! Oh boy did I! Only one time in my life did I ever tell my mom that I hated her. In the end I moved out and it was downhill from there. It was the toughest experience of my life. After being on my own for too long I ended up at at Grandma Rod's but I think Aunt Betty took pity on Grandma and took me to live at her house.

I only remember Tim, Priscilla and Margaret being there. By that time Zora was already on her own I think. Funny, I don't ever recall feeling out of place or unwanted in that house. Aunt Betty treated me with kindness and always made sure I was included in the family events. She even trusted me enough to drive her VW van home from football games. And it was a new van (well, that's how I remember it). The point is, Aunt Betty always had a way of making me feel like I was worth something.

Later, when I started having children, Aunt Betty was always there with my mom to help with cooking and caring for the new baby. She did that for every baby until we moved up to the Bay Area. She also treated my family, particularly my girls, special and in turn they loved to visit her. She loved it when they took the time to take new little ones to see her when they were in California. After my mom and dad were both gone, the girls still made it a point to visit when they could. In turn, there was always something special in the mail at Christmas time and it was always appreciated.

There is just no way to convey what Aunt Betty has meant to all of us and in time we will all be able to tell her ourselves. That is the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the faith that our existence does not end with death. In time we will all be together again. It would be an unbearable thing if it were not so.

So, hasta luego, Aunt Betty; not good bye, but see you in a little while. We know it's true!