Betty Lee Jones, 69
Betty Lee Jones, 69, died at the home of her care givers, Don and Roxie Jones, after her battle with cancer, on Tuesday, March 7, 2006, in Kalispell.
She was born July 6, 1936, in Pendleton, Ore., to Lee A. and Esther (Swisse) Finley. Betty received her education in Pilot Rock, Ore., while living with her grandmother and working for Pacific Telephone in Pendleton.
In 1957, she met and married Donald R. Jones. She then moved with him to Kalispell, where they raised six children, later divorcing in 1981.
One of her greatest passions was doing ceramics and entering them in shows. She also loved taking pictures of sunsets, but especially of family and friends. She collected trolls of all shapes and sizes. A great believer in UFOs, she amassed a large collection of books and information on the subject.
Betty worked for various restaurants starting in 1980. Her last job before retiring in 1998 was with Arby's. Never owning or driving a car, Betty walked everywhere, no matter the weather. She always walked to Sykes to have coffee with all her friends. Although battling cancer, her last greatest achievement was to hike to Stanton Lake in October 2005 with her sons, Allen and Ron and Ron's children.
The family would like to give a special thank you to the Cancer Center and staff for their care of Betty.
Betty was preceded in death by her parents and an infant grandson, Adam Rowells.
She is survived by her seven children, Donna Byrd and husband, Gene, of San Francisco, Karen Rowells and husband, Ken, of Surprise, Ariz., Ronald Jones, Allen Jones, Kim Shultz and friend, Gregg Strobbe, Colleen Johnson and husband, Brad, and Jessica Jones, all of Kalispell; 15 grandchildren, Chris Byrd of California, Dereck and Jamie Bergstrom and Josh Rowells, all of Arizona, Troy Jones, Sierra Strobbe, Jason and Tanner Jones, Cody and Ashley Berger, Jade Johnson, Justice, Jasmine and Sernity Jones, all of Kalispell, Stacie Jones of Oregon; one brother, Don Finley and wife, Sharon; and one sister, Sherry Finley, all of Pendleton.
Funeral services for Betty Lee Jones will be held 2 p.m. Monday, March 13, at Johnson Mortuary Chapel with Dr. David Kauffman officiating. Burial will follow at Glacier Memorial Gardens. There will be no public visitation.
Johnson Mortuary and Crematory is caring for Betty's family.