Betty Almeda Love

Betty Almeda Love was born on September 14, 1916, in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. On September 16, 2014, Betty went home to her Savior. She just made it past her 98th birthday! Her husband, C. P. (Pat) Love, predeceased her in November 2010. They were married for 64 years. Betty and Pat moved to Salem from Seattle in 1994 to be with their daughter, Rosemary Love, a retiree from the Oregon Department of Revenue.
Betty's maternal great grandfather was born and raised on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, and came to North America by way of Cape Horn. He brought dry root berry canes and raised some of the first domestic berries in Western Canada. Betty's parents were Perley Abraham and Mabel Martha Jones. Perley was an executive with Fraser River Pile Driving, and Mabel was a good wife who loved tea parties and playing bridge.
Betty attended the University of British Columbia where she majored in English and more importantly met Pat. Betty majored in English and Pat in engineering. When Pat went to sign up for the draft, he was told that with his engineering degree, they were going to put him in munitions. So Pat and Betty were married in Montreal, Canada and then moved to Arvida, Quebec. Arvida was an industrial city founded by the Alcoa Aluminum Company (later Alcan) in 1927, when the first aluminum smelter was constructed.
This time period was a simple and happy time for both of them. They learned French, began skiing and made new friends. After some time they moved back West to Tacoma, Washington, where their daughter was born in 1949. From that point on, Betty dedicated herself to the noble career of being a homemaker and raising her one and only child.
Betty knew a tremendous amount about flowers, trees, birds, vegetable gardening, etc., and taught her daughter about the beautiful and interesting world around her. Betty kept up with her French and took lessons until she was in her 50's. She was an avid reader. One of her favorite books was A Man Called Intrepid, a book about Franklin D. Roosevelt.
For most of her life, Betty was an agnostic. However, in 2011 she suffered a severe stroke. God chose that event to do a miracle, something no person could do. He completely changed Betty's heart. A softness and love came into her heart that the family had never seen before. Before she complained about everything; now she was thankful and content. If she was mean to someone, she was remorseful. God causes all things to serve for our best.
At one of the church services at Avamere Court at Keizer, Mom was completely taken by one of the songs. She repeated part of it over and over: "Oh what a wonder that Jesus loves me!" We are sure that Betty is now happy and healthy in her new heavenly home!
Thanks to the many people who contributed to making the last years of Betty's life so rich and happy. A few of those people are Rose Kariakin, Jeanne Messmore, Carole Graham, and Steve and Debbie Cooper. A special thanks to the staff at Avamere who loved Betty and sincerely cared for her.