Betty Lee Hedrick Elder, 87
Betty Lee Hedrick Elder, 87, passed away Thursday, May 8, 2008, at the Montana Veterans Home. Betty was born Oct. 1, 1920, in Sheridan, Wyo., the only child of Sue and Lee Hedrick. During the '20s, the family moved to Whitefish, where Lee became the manager of the Piggly-Wiggly grocery store.
Betty attended Whitefish schools, where she was a very good student and scholar, and developed a love for reading, which continued throughout her life.
She graduated from Whitefish High School, then enrolled in the nursing program at St. Luke's Hospital in Spokane. Betty obtained her registered nurse degree at the onset of World War II and enlisted in the U.S. Army Nursing Corps, where she was stationed in England. During this time she met and married Don Elder.
After D-Day, the family moved to Toledo, Ohio, and then to Whitefish.
After the birth of her third daughter, Betty returned to nursing. Betty was trained as one of the first neonatal intensive-care nurses in Montana and cherished her work with the very small infants. Betty often was the flight nurse on emergency medical helicopter transports.
Family demands forced her to leave hospital work to work in the clinics of Drs. Lockridge, Miller, McIntyre and Johnson. In her final career move, she became administrator of the Colonial Manor nursing home, where she trained many of the nursing personnel who still are providing services in the area today. Patient-care quality was always Betty's primary concern, and many were fortunate to enjoy her daily visits with each patient.
Betty and Don had three daughters and enjoyed their activities, such as swimming in Whitefish lake, going for long rides in the country, playing the piano, and always reading cherished books.
She was active in Beta Sigma Phi, played in canasta clubs with friends, and attended her children's school performances and activities.
Her later years were marked by arthritis and Parkinson's disease, and she resided at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls, where she received excellent, compassionate care.
Betty is survived by her daughters, Donna and Ed Hale of Helena, Mary Yeats of Whitefish, and Cathy Childs of Frenchtown; six grandchildren, Becky and John Zehntner of Blackfoot, Idaho, Jeff and Andrea Yeats of Colorado Springs, Colo., Kerry and Jim Ford of Jacksonville, Fla., Andy and Tami Childs of Bloomington, Minn., Riley and Kristin Hale of Rochester, Minn., and Jen and Josh Cinq-Mars, of Fresno, Calif.; eight great-grandchildren; also by a lifelong friend, Dorothy Trent.
She was preceded by her parents, Lee and Sue Hedrick; and her husband, Don.
A private family celebration of Betty's life will be held at a later date.
Austin Funeral Home in Whitefish is in charge of arrangements.