Welcome to the memorial page for
Betty Hartwig
March 12, 1935 ~ December 11, 2017 (age 82) 82 Years OldShare Tribute:
Mom’s Obit (She Never Wanted)
Mom was born in Delta, Colorado to Ben and Hazel Graybeal on March 12, 1935. She has two brothers, Vern (deceased) and Roy and one sister, Darlene.
They lived in several towns and states around the Northwest and Mom finished school at Marsing High School.
She worked most of her life at various jobs. A grocery clerk at East Cleveland Market, walking the 5 or 6 blocks each evening and home again about 10:30 p.m. Babysitting (even the neighborhood kids), morning Fry Cook at the Toot N Tell in Nampa and finally driving School Bus as a professional driver for 29 years. During this time, she also drove the school bus up to Bogus Basin. Quite the feat if you have ever driven that road in the winter. In the summer of 2014, Mom was honored as one of the “Best Drivers” the Labor Camp ever had. She loved that route and the kids and never drove any other route. Mom also made life-long friends at every job she held.
Mom joined Beta Sigma Phi and her circle of friends grew even bigger. Mom held every office in her chapter more than once.
Growing up “middle class” we didn’t always have a lot of things, but we (kids) didn’t notice it much. Grandma Graybeal always said, “You can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear if you try”. Our Mom always tried to make the best out of everything. And she did.
When we were little lunch consisted of a bowl of Campbell’s soup, half of a peanut
butter & jelly sandwich and Kool-Aid (usually red). When we had the babysitting kids there was no preferential treatment! Wow, did I ever think I had it bad sometimes. Later on when I was in High School, we graduated to bologna sandwiches. Now Dad was no exception to the bologna. Danny and I can’t look at bologna without getting sick. Right Cindy Howe Lootens?!!
We almost never ate dinner out so our Friday night pizza came from a Chef-Boy-AR-dee Box. Brown the hamburger, add water to the crust pouch and open up the tomato paste can and smear it on. We also got to sit in the living room that night and eat dinner and watch TV.
All of us kids had chores, Danny was always asked to take out the garbage and I always had to dust the furniture.
David had to help with the dishes. Danny probably still empties the garbage, I know David helps Kier with dishes but still have an aversion to dusting. No white glove testing at my house.
Dinner was at 6:20 p.m. as soon as Dad came home from work and cleaned up for dinner. Bedtime varied from 7:30 to 8 to 9 depending on our ages. Now since all of us kids were kind of spread out in age Dean didn’t come along until later. So his memories of growing up with Mom are different than the rest of us. He was very spoiled. Deanna was smarter than us-she lived with her Mom and Grandma most of the time and got out of the chores.
In 1973, Mom and Dad bought the cabin at Crouch and we no longer camped by tent or small travel trailer on the weekends. Mom and Dad loved the cabin. Again, she took the sow’s ear (2nd oldest building up there) and turned it into a nice weekend retreat. They seldom missed a weekend or holiday celebration at the cabin. Dad bought a Honda 70 and 75 and we all thought we were “hot stuff” riding all over the mountains up there. Mom always rode her motorcycle in a “professional way”. She taught friends and grandkids how to ride a motorcycle. Mom always had bite size chocolate candies in her “motorcycle jacket pocket” to eat on our break. We always got a drink from the stream and had our candy bar. No litter bugging – the wrappers also went back in the jacket pocket. We also tubed the river in the summer. Of course, Mom on her air mattress so she could go faster than the rest of us. She never had her butt hit the rocks. She did have to walk every now and then when the river was too low to float.
Mom had us five wonderful kids, I’m sure we were perfect, 11 grandkids and 7 great grandkids. Mom loved Dad so much that her heart broke 3 ½ years ago when Dad passed away. Mom gave it her best, but it was just not the same without the love of her life. Mom and Dad were married on December 15, 1961. So this past Friday, Mom and Dad would have been married 56 years.
Mom left this world on Monday, so she could be with Dad on Friday for their anniversary. I know you all had a great celebration.
That was our Mom. Rest in peace now.
Services will be held Tuesday, December 19, 2017, 2 p.m. at the Parma Cemetery 307 W. Grove St., Parma, Idaho followed by gathering at the Elks Lodge, 1015 N Kimball Ave, Caldwell, Idaho at 3 p.m.
Mom was born in Delta, Colorado to Ben and Hazel Graybeal on March 12, 1935. She has two brothers, Vern (deceased) and Roy and one sister, Darlene.
They lived in several towns and states around the Northwest and Mom finished school at Marsing High School.
She worked most of her life at various jobs. A grocery clerk at East Cleveland Market, walking the 5 or 6 blocks each evening and home again about 10:30 p.m. Babysitting (even the neighborhood kids), morning Fry Cook at the Toot N Tell in Nampa and finally driving School Bus as a professional driver for 29 years. During this time, she also drove the school bus up to Bogus Basin. Quite the feat if you have ever driven that road in the winter. In the summer of 2014, Mom was honored as one of the “Best Drivers” the Labor Camp ever had. She loved that route and the kids and never drove any other route. Mom also made life-long friends at every job she held.
Mom joined Beta Sigma Phi and her circle of friends grew even bigger. Mom held every office in her chapter more than once.
Growing up “middle class” we didn’t always have a lot of things, but we (kids) didn’t notice it much. Grandma Graybeal always said, “You can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear if you try”. Our Mom always tried to make the best out of everything. And she did.
When we were little lunch consisted of a bowl of Campbell’s soup, half of a peanut
butter & jelly sandwich and Kool-Aid (usually red). When we had the babysitting kids there was no preferential treatment! Wow, did I ever think I had it bad sometimes. Later on when I was in High School, we graduated to bologna sandwiches. Now Dad was no exception to the bologna. Danny and I can’t look at bologna without getting sick. Right Cindy Howe Lootens?!!
We almost never ate dinner out so our Friday night pizza came from a Chef-Boy-AR-dee Box. Brown the hamburger, add water to the crust pouch and open up the tomato paste can and smear it on. We also got to sit in the living room that night and eat dinner and watch TV.
All of us kids had chores, Danny was always asked to take out the garbage and I always had to dust the furniture.
David had to help with the dishes. Danny probably still empties the garbage, I know David helps Kier with dishes but still have an aversion to dusting. No white glove testing at my house.
Dinner was at 6:20 p.m. as soon as Dad came home from work and cleaned up for dinner. Bedtime varied from 7:30 to 8 to 9 depending on our ages. Now since all of us kids were kind of spread out in age Dean didn’t come along until later. So his memories of growing up with Mom are different than the rest of us. He was very spoiled. Deanna was smarter than us-she lived with her Mom and Grandma most of the time and got out of the chores.
In 1973, Mom and Dad bought the cabin at Crouch and we no longer camped by tent or small travel trailer on the weekends. Mom and Dad loved the cabin. Again, she took the sow’s ear (2nd oldest building up there) and turned it into a nice weekend retreat. They seldom missed a weekend or holiday celebration at the cabin. Dad bought a Honda 70 and 75 and we all thought we were “hot stuff” riding all over the mountains up there. Mom always rode her motorcycle in a “professional way”. She taught friends and grandkids how to ride a motorcycle. Mom always had bite size chocolate candies in her “motorcycle jacket pocket” to eat on our break. We always got a drink from the stream and had our candy bar. No litter bugging – the wrappers also went back in the jacket pocket. We also tubed the river in the summer. Of course, Mom on her air mattress so she could go faster than the rest of us. She never had her butt hit the rocks. She did have to walk every now and then when the river was too low to float.
Mom had us five wonderful kids, I’m sure we were perfect, 11 grandkids and 7 great grandkids. Mom loved Dad so much that her heart broke 3 ½ years ago when Dad passed away. Mom gave it her best, but it was just not the same without the love of her life. Mom and Dad were married on December 15, 1961. So this past Friday, Mom and Dad would have been married 56 years.
Mom left this world on Monday, so she could be with Dad on Friday for their anniversary. I know you all had a great celebration.
That was our Mom. Rest in peace now.
Services will be held Tuesday, December 19, 2017, 2 p.m. at the Parma Cemetery 307 W. Grove St., Parma, Idaho followed by gathering at the Elks Lodge, 1015 N Kimball Ave, Caldwell, Idaho at 3 p.m.
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