Beverly Marie Betz

Beverly Marie Olson/Betz passed away peacefully with her family surrounding her Thursday, September 20.  She is finally free of her 8-year battle with MDS and heart trouble.  She was our family's matriarch, guiding light, and pillar of strength.  Her adventurous spirit and wonderful sense of humor will be greatly missed. 

She was born to Edna and Clarence Olson in Madison, South Dakota, August 18, 1936.  She was the third of six children.  She spent her younger years on the family farm learning the value of hard work.

Beverly attended Madison High School where she played the alto sax in the band and traveled all over the country playing in competitions.  They were ranked as one of the top high school bands in the country.  Her love of music lasted throughout her life.

She married Robert Earl Betz in Madison, South Dakota, October 17, 1953.

They had three kids together, and divorced in 1978 after 25 years of marriage.

Robert Graduated from South Dakota State in 1957 with a degree in Electrical Engineering.  The family followed his young career around the country living in Roseville, MN, Cape Canaveral, FL, Denver, CO, Minneapolis, MN and finally to Seattle, WA where she stayed for 40 years until she retired and then moved to Post Falls, ID in 2006

When her family was young, she attended soccer and baseball games, tennis matches and horse shows.  Her love of nature and the out of doors lead to many family camping trips and hikes all over the state of Washington.  She was an avid gardener and spent many hours scouring nurseries and plant sales, and working in her gardens.  Sewing was another one of her passions.  She made clothes, quilts, dolls, and even curtains. She refinished furniture, reupholstered chairs, and made pottery.  She was active in garden clubs and quilt guilds. 

She graduated from Bellevue Community College in 1975 with an AS degree in landscape design.  She and a friend formed a landscape company called “Personalized Landscape Design” where they hired many of their children and had a busy business.  Needing insurance and thinking of retirement, she dissolved the landscape business and looked for more traditional employment.  She worked in HR at Rocket Research, and the Red Lion before going to Boeing for 11 years and retiring.  She continued her love of sewing and creating working in Renton at Pieces Quilt shop.  She taught handwork classes and was fondly called “The Bag Lady”.   She was known for her beautiful quilts and handwork.  She had her own quilt show in 2016.

Beverly was preceded in death by her parents, Clarence and Edna Olson; her ex-husband, Robert Betz; and a sister, Lee Ann Johnson. 

She is survived by 4 siblings: Marilyn Barger, Rosie Medeiros, Roger Olson and Wendell Olson. She is also survived by her three children: Brenda and son-in-law Richard, Terri and Tim; granddaughters Jessie Betz Ruff (Tony) and Amie Betz Jaycox and 5 great grandchildren.  She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.

A celebration of life service for Beverly will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 29, at Bell Tower Funeral home.  In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be given to Hospice of North Idaho, 2290 W. Prairie Ave., Coeur d’ Alene, ID  83815