Bettie Main Rhodes, 89

Bettie Main Rhodes, 89, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, artist, great cook and hostess, passed away on Saturday, May 30, 2009, at Immanuel Lutheran Home in Kalispell, surrounded by her children. Bettie was born Dec. 3, 1919, to Jessie and Beulah (Wadley) Main in Kalispell.

Bettie attended Kalispell schools and graduated from Flathead County High School, where she loved sharing her special talent of drawing portraits for the school annual and participating in plays.

Bettie married Cecil Rhodes on Sept. 12, 1938, in a "double elopement" with good friends Ross and Delores Young. Following World War II, the couple resided in Kalispell, spending summers at their cabin on Flathead Lake. This is where Bettie earned the title "Hazel" for all her cooking and entertaining for family and friends (old and new!). Good friends and family were a priority to Bettie, and she always had a listening ear and lots of laughs for all who stopped by.

After Cecil's retirement, the couple spent winters traveling south to enjoy warmer weather and join good friends on their ventures.

Following Cecil's death in 1978, she and good friend Robert Robertson enjoyed trips to Glacier National Park and summers on the banks of Flathead Lake. Painting landscapes and portraits, sculpting and making gifts for friends and family earned her showings at the Hockaday Art Center.

Bettie moved to Buffalo Hill Terrace in March 1994, where she delighted others with her sunny sense of humor. She moved to Immanuel Lutheran Home in December 1995, impacting staff and residents with her sweet spirit and that good sense of humor.

Bettie was preceded in death by her husband, Cecil Rhodes; brother; Keith Main; sister, Nedra McGlenn; and a grandson, Michael Jellison.

Bettie leaves a legacy of love and laughter to her four surviving children, three daughters, Sandra Rhodes of Missoula, Nancy Jellison of Kalispell, and Hootie Dodge and her husband, Dan, of Dupuyer; one son, Tweed Rhodes, of Kalispell; also six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Private graveside services will be held at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery.

Memorials can be made to Immanuel Lutheran Home, 185 Crestline Ave., Kalispell, MT 59901; or MDSC (group home), 1005 Marshall, Missoula, MT 59801.

Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for Bettie's family. You are invited to go to www.jgfuneralhome.com to offer condolences and sign Bettie's guest book.