Betty passed away peacefully in Kamloops, BC, at the age of 92, with her daughter at her side.
Betty was born and grew up in Vancouver, BC. She graduated from BC Provincial Normal School in 1949 and began her teaching career in Cawston, BC. After teaching in Cawston and then Richmond, she headed north to Whitehorse. She became very active with the church there and met Bob while attending the Young People’s group. They were married on April 3, 1956.
Betty and Bob settled in Savona, BC, as the teachers of the two-room school. Betty always made it known that when she took a leave from teaching to raise her children, they had to hire two teachers to replace her! In 1960, they moved to Kamloops. A few years later, Betty accepted a position at a private kindergarten in the Valleyview Community Hall.
In 1966, Betty and Bob moved to Powell River. They returned to Savona each summer to enjoy time at the cabin they had built on Kamloops Lake.
In Powell River, Betty taught kindergarten until the birth of two more children. When she later returned to teaching, she taught preschool for special needs children for the Artaban Society and then started the first special needs class within the public school system in Powell River. She returned to teaching kindergarten for the last seven years of her career.
After retiring in 1989, Betty and Bob travelled the world before moving back to Kamloops in 2012.
Betty was very active with the churches in both Powell River and Kamloops. She was also active with Girl Guides and Beta Sigma Phi. She was very devoted to her faith, her family and her friends.
Betty was predeceased by her husband Bob, her parents Mary and Lyall McGlashan and her brother Ian. She is survived by her children Heather Awmack (Ken), Rob Abbott, Ernie Abbott (Tracey) and Tricia Huffman (Kara-Lynn), grandchildren David (Krystle), Jae, Emily, Amanda (Najib), Tobin, Eric, Kylie, Grace and Jaden, and great-grandchildren Blake and Emersyn.
A memorial service will be held at 11 am on Saturday, January 14, at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 1136 - 6th Avenue, Kamloops. The service will also be live-streamed at standrewskamloops.com/live.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Betty’s memory to BC Cancer Society or St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Kamloops. Condolences may be expressed at: schoeningfuneralservice.com.
