Betty Lou Peterson, 75

Betty Lou Peterson died peacefully in the arms of her son, Bill, on Friday, Feb. 27, 2009, at Brendan House in Kalispell after a lengthy illness. She was born on March 26, 1933, in Helena, to Lester Stevens and Helen Paull.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband William "Bill" S. Peterson; her parents; her brother, Tom Stevens; and granddaughter, Casey Lynn Kassner.

Betty is survived by her eight adult children, Tommy Rushford of Helena; Vickie Dickerson of Mesa, Ariz.; Bill Peden and Denny Lincoln of Kalispell; Tammy Kassner of Anchorage, Alaska; Tim Peden and his wife, Patty, of Piedmont, Calif.; John W. Peterson and his wife, Elaine, of Kalispell; Sandra McMahon and her husband, Mike, of Granbury, Texas, and James A. Peterson and his wife, Sue, of Tualatin, Ore.; twin brothers, Larry and his wife, Patty, of Helena, and Jerry Stevens of Helena; sister-in-law, Fran Stevens of Helena; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Betty and the kids moved to Kalispell in 1968 where she worked at Hennessey's as a waitress and was quite extraordinary at everything she did.

She was a member of the Eagles and Elks Lodge.

Betty loved fishing and always caught the most fish. She enjoyed traveling and especially enjoyed her trips to Hawaii with Tammy, Brittany and Courtney.

The girls always knew how to make Grandma laugh! Her greatest passion, though, was her children and grandchildren, whom she was very proud of.

Nicknamed Betty "Boop," she will be always be remembered for her contagious smile and statuesque beauty.

Graveside services will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, at Glacier Memorial Gardens.

A memorial service will be scheduled in July when friends and family can get together to share memories and stories of Betty and Bill.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Progressive Supra-Nuclear Palsy Foundation would be appreciated; http://www.psp.org/index.php

Buffalo Hill Funeral Home is caring for the family.