Betty Greaves, 92

Betty, a truly beloved wife to the late Jack Greaves, and mother to Susan (Robert Hubele), John and the late Cindy, and adored grandmother of Elisabeth (Martin Sessi), Camille (Cory Anderson), Charis (Scott Birchall) and Dave, and great-grandmother to Casey, Natalie and James Anderson and Jacob and Audrey Birchall, died peacefully on April 17, 2018, just shy of her 93rd birthday. Betty is also survived by brothers, Hi Gibson (Mary) and Ed Gibson. She was loved by many and will be remembered for her kind and caring heart and her deep compassion towards others.

Betty was born June 22, 1925, in Wichita, Kansas, the oldest child of Ruth and Dr. Harry V. Gibson. Her two brothers, Hi and Ed, were born six and seven years later. During her early years, the family lived in Wisconsin, mostly in the small railroad town of Fairfield near Eau Claire, where her father was a family physician. The family, like most during the Depression, had little money but her mother recalled that “we never ate better,” because patients paid their bills with produce from their gardens and farms. Betty embraced this resilient and positive attitude and carried on this message throughout her life. Without fail, she would always seek and find the best in every person and in every situation.

The family moved to Great Falls when Betty was in eighth grade. During high school Betty met her future husband, Jack Greaves, when he was home from college and came to her house to pick up her mother’s doughnuts for a bake sale. Jack then made and won a $1 bet with his friend to take her out on a date. Many trips and much correspondence when they were falling in love followed between Missoula, where Jack was attending university, and Great Falls, where Betty was finishing high school.

After graduation from Great Falls High School, Betty briefly attended University of Denver where she joined Delta Gamma sorority. Later she attended the University of Montana, then returned home and worked at Western Union. Jack became a fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps, and was stationed in England, flying missions over France. He was shot down and captured by the Luftwaffe and turned over to the SS, but soon escaped and was hidden by a French family. For two days Jack and the whole family hid in a tunnel they had built under their pig pen while a battle raged over the top of them, until Canadian ground forces captured the area.

He and Betty were married in April 1945 after Jack was transferred to the U.S. It was a loving marriage that would last almost 69 years. She always fondly referred to him as “my Jack” and would mostly ignore the Snickers bars that he regularly ate after lunch.

They lived in Ohio and Bozeman while Jack earned a degree in architecture, then moved to several different areas for his work and settled in Sacramento, California, where they raised their three children, Susan, Cindy and John. Betty celebrated 55 years in PEO and was also a longtime member of the Junior League. Being elected president of the Junior League in Sacramento was an important milestone in her life.

Betty began her real estate career in Marin County, California, in the late 1960s, and continued her career when she moved to Montana. She loved selling real estate, getting to know her clients and caring about every little detail during her 47-year career, which she never really retired from. Her grandson designed her latest set of business cards when she was in her 80s.

Every summer, the family visited Betty’s parents in their retirement home on the West Shore of Flathead Lake. In the late ‘70s, they moved from California to the “white house” property, fulfilling their long-term desire to return home to Montana. Jack subsequently designed and built a home close to the lakeshore, which they liked so well that they built and moved to another just like it.

In addition to being a PEO member in Chapter C, where her mother and sister-in-law were also members, Betty was an active member of the Lakeside Chapel. She was always a strong supporter of her community and thrived in the friendships that she built over the years.

Relationships were paramount to Betty; she always put others above herself and her friends remember her as someone who was a compassionate listener. She loved to talk on the phone and connect with friends over coffee or at exercise class. She touched the lives of many with her kindness and empathy, always genuinely caring about what was happening in other people’s lives. Her greatest joy in life was being kind to others and making connections with people. In her 80s, she smilingly told her family her favorite thing to do was to “visit old people.”

Betty blossomed during her almost four years of living at Buffalo Hill Terrace, enthusiastically participating in many activities, including watercolor painting, flower arranging, yoga, concerts and outings. Her favorite class was creative writing, which she never missed, and she wrote over 50 short stories under the expert guidance of Bob O’Neil. Her most recent stories were a series about dogs — she loved dogs from the time she was a little girl. Betty would quiz everyone about their favorite dog breed, and then research and write about them.

The family is grateful for the care of the wonderful staff at Buffalo Hill Terrace, which greatly enhanced the quality of her life. During the four years she resided in her apartment there, her cheerful, positive outlook drew people to her. She made many friends, and connected deeply with the staff members who were committed to her care. Betty had a natural way of making each person in her life feel special.

A celebration of Betty’s Life will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 30, at Lakeside Chapel in Lakeside, with a reception to follow.