More Thoughts of My Sister Betty

On April 11th I posted memories about my sister Betty. These memories included a lot about our childhood. Even though it was a long post I thought of more I could have written.

Betty was a talented seamstress, as is our sister Donna. We all had the same homemaking teacher in high school, the caring and talented Mrs. Hanks. My daughter Kathy had the same teacher too. We all learned to sew and each of us made our own wedding dresses.

Betty and Sam had a happy marriage and a lovely home. Betty was a good cook and her children learned the same skills in her kitchen. Betty taught Elizabeth to make the most delicious pies. I know that because Elizabeth lived with us for five years. Gary is a skilled chef and does this for a living. Matthew also knows how to get around in the kitchen too. He helped us with setting up the food at my daughter's wedding. I'm sure that Mark does fine in the kitchen too.

The boys learned to hunt with their Dad. They always kept the freezer full and were never without something to put on the table. Some of them continue this tradition. One Thanksgiving after Betty died I called their house and Matthew answered. His brothers were out hunting and he was preparing the Thanksgiving feast for the family.

Betty liked butterflies and pretty pastel colors. When Betty was little she received a pretty butterfly pin at her birthday party. The package was large and in the box was a smaller box. In the smallest box was a lovely butterfly. This could have been the beginning of her love for butterflies. This sticks out in my mind as birthday parties were rare in our home as children. We remembered birthdays, but did not usually invite our friends to a party. Actually this is the only party I remember.

Betty's home was painted pretty pastels and the fabrics she chose were in the same flowery shades with delicate prints. It was always fun to receive Christmas packages from her as she put a lot of thought into each gift. A lot of my little collectibles are from her. She never forgot to add something in the package for my December birthday.

The last time I was in Billings to see her family was April of 2008. I had not been able to get there when she was sick or when they had her memorial service in November of 2007. Our sister Donna was there with the rest of Betty's family for the service. But I was able to be with them when they buried her on her April 11th birthday. She is in the Hamilton family plot in the Burlington Cemetery, Burlington, Wyoming. Their family has used the same burial grounds for generations. Betty and Sam as well as his parents, grandparents and greats are all buried there.

I spent most of a week with Gary, Elizabeth, Matthew and Mark as well as Mark's two children, Brittany and Michael Hamilton. Elizabeth was there from Missouri. I would have loved to see her two boys and meet her new husband too. I have not seen her sons Andrew and Elijah since they were little guys. Andrew is going to be a daddy this year so Betty and Sam would be great grandparents.

I wrote in my previous blog post about vacations with Betty and Sam. I did not mention that in 1994 Paul and Laura and I, along with Becky and Melissa (my granddaughters), traveled from Aurora, Colorado to Billings to spend some time with Betty, Sam and family. It was a memorable trip for us. Paul and I had traveled with Patchy the cat to Aurora from San Diego. We had been caring for Patchy since Kathy, John and girls had moved to the Denver area. Laura had been with them that school year to care for the girls. So we were taking Patchy to her real home and bringing Laura back to SanDiego that summer. While in Colorado we wanted to head north to Montana to see Betty's family. It was a fun time except for the accident we had on the way to Billings. Nobody was hurt though.

Another special memory is when Betty's son Gary spent a good part of the summer in San Diego in 1973. He was mainly at Mom's as that was his grandma and she loved having him with her. But Gary was with us when we were moving into this house that summer. He helped us with some painting too. My children loved having Gary here that summer. Gary is in between Laura and Bill in age.

It seems as if there is no end to memories, but I need to put an end to this post. Families are part of God's plan and we need to treasure our relationships.

Pictures from family album are of Betty with Caroline and Donna in Coronado in the 40s;
also picture of Gene McDonaugh family in Portland in 1945