Betty Fay DeVall Brown, 86

On Friday, Nov. 6, 2009, at the age of 86, Betty Fay Brown peacefully passed into eternity at her home on Whitefish Lake in Whitefish. Her son, Dr. Richard Brown, and her daughter, Gail Blakeley, held her in their arms as the Lord opened heaven s gate to receive her spirit in perfect time, according to His will. Betty was born (Oct. 19, 1923), raised, and lived her entire life in Whitefish. She was proud of her Whitefish roots and appreciated her hometown s beauty and the quality of life it offered. She sported a Whitefish Native license plate holder on her Subaru, advertising what few residents of the area can honestly claim, a long-term and historic tie to the community she loved. One of eight children, Betty was the youngest child. She attended grade school and high school in Whitefish. Summer days would find her and her siblings walking the boardwalk through downtown on their way to the lake, where they would spend all day swimming. Hiking west down the railroad tracks to Beaver Bay, she and her brothers and sister would pick and sell huckleberries to earn money for school clothes. A gallon of berries fetched a dollar. A dollar bought three cotton dresses from J.C. Penney. It must have been her beautiful red hair that first caught Glen Brown s eye. Barely 18, she married Glen on Dec. 25, 1941. Times were tough; economic depression and war gripped the country. Rather than go to war, Glen was given a deferment to raise hogs and farm with the help of his new bride Betty. Leaving the relative comforts of city life in Whitefish and being more than a bit naive, she found herself thrust into domestic action. A novice cook, she toiled over a blazing hot wood cook stove, preparing hearty meals for hard-working men and her family. No indoor plumbing meant the outhouse was the only bathroom option, even at 20 below zero. Betty bore her first child, a boy, Richard Brown, within a year of being married. A daughter, Gail Brown, soon followed. She and Glen farmed the Henry Good Ranch on Whitefish Stage Road from 1943 through 1951. From 51 through 55, Betty owned and managed Bonnie s Dress Shop on Central Avenue in Whitefish. Her third and final child, Robert Brown, was born in 1954 while she was still working her dress shop. After selling the business in 1955, she worked at the Toggery for a couple years. Betty tagged and graded trees for her husband in their Brown Brothers Christmas Trees yard, shipping as many as 49 rail loads of trees in a single season to different parts of the country. Having honed her cooking skills on the farm, she found courage to sell cookies and coffee cakes at the Whitefish Farm Women s Market to earn pin money. Her baked goods were a big hit, and so she found one of her life s callings, to be a cook and baker. Aside from her duties as a wife and mother, Betty enjoyed an active social life. For 43 years she played on a women s golf team in Whitefish. She also loved her bowling team buddies. She was a lifetime active member of the Whitefish Methodist Church and dearly loved her church family. A member of the Moose Lodge, she enjoyed the camaraderie of friends and lodge events. She found great joy in blessing others with her culinary creations. You d see her bringing walnut fudge to the voting precinct workers or dropping a peanut butter chocolate cream pie by the hair salon where she d get her hair done. Late summer was Transparent Apple and huckleberry season, so you might get lucky and have one of Betty s pies show up at your door. She d frequently say, Just leave me in my kitchen and I ll be happy. Betty leaves behind a family that loved her deeply, mourns her passing with great sorrow and remembers the joy, provision and sincere caring that characterized her love of family. Preceded in death by her husband and youngest son, she s survived by her oldest son, Dr. Richard Brown, and his wife, Margy; daughter, Gail Blakeley; six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; brother, William DeVall, and his wife, Eva; sister-in-law, Clara DeVall; and numerous nieces and nephews. Betty s legacy is one of great love and care for family. Her children and grandchildren were her world, a focus of constant concern, interest, support and provision. Her beautiful yet modest lake home with her residing there was a mooring point for us all, a seemingly constant safe harbor in the ever-shifting sands of life. She and her home were a place of natural beauty, peace, rest, fun, encouragement, sage advice and togetherness. We remember Betty Fay Brown, our mother, our grandmother, our friend as a generous giver of self. Oh, how we will miss you more than mere words could ever describe! Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, at the United Methodist Church of Whitefish, with a reception to follow at the Whitefish Moose Lodge. Betty requested that donations be made to Wings, a cancer support group that helps cancer patients and their families cover the cost of cancer treatment-related travel expenses. Donations can be made in care of Wings Regional Cancer Support, P.O. Box 7852, Kalispell, MT 59901. Austin Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.