Betty Elder
Betty Lee Hedrick Elder, 87, passed away 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. The family moved to Whitefish during the 1920s, 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 RN at the onset of World War II and enlisted in the Army Nursing Corps, where she was stationed in England. During this time she met and married Don Elder.
Following D-Day, the family moved to Toledo, Ohio, and then to Whitefish. Following 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. She often was the flight nurse on emergency medical helicopter transports.
Family demands forced her to leave hospital work and to the clinics of doctors 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 are still providing services in the area today. Patient care quality was always Betty's primary concern, and many were fortunate to enjoy her daily visit with each patient.
Betty and Don had three daughters and enjoyed their activities, like swimming in Whitefish lake, going for long rides in the country, playing the piano and always reading of cherished books. She was active in Beta Sigma Phi, playing in canasta clubs with friends and attending 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.
She was preceded in death by her parents Lee and Sue Hedrick and her husband Don.
Betty is survived by her daughters Donna Hale and husband Ed, in Helena, Mary Yeats, in Whitefish, and Cathy Childs, in Frenchtown; grandchildren Becky Zehntner and husband John, in Blackfoot, Jeff Yeats and wife Andrea, in Colorado Springs, Co., Kerry Ford and husband Jim, in Jacksonville, Fla., Andy Childs and wife Tami, in Bloomington, Minn., Riley Hale and wife Kristin, in Rochester, Minn., and Jen Cinq-Mars and husband Josh, in Fresno, Calif.; eight great grandchildren; and life-long friend Dorothy Trent.
A private family celebration of Betty's life will be held at a later date.