Haines, Oregon
Betty Jane Wendt, 77, a former longtime Haines resident, died Sept. 3, 2004, at her home in Lebanon.
A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pastor Robin Harris of the Cornerstone Baptist Church in North Powder will officiate.
Visitations will be held at Gray’s West & Company Pioneer Chapel until 5 p.m. today.
Betty Jane was born March 27, 1927, in Carlinville, Ill., to Claude and Ollie May LaMandin.
Betty had done many things in her life. She went to college and received her master’s degree, worked at a reserve bank, taught school, worked for the Forest Service in the mapping department and was a rancher’s wife.
She met her husband, Ronald I. Wendt, while teaching school in Hereford. They married in 1953, and had two children, Owen and Johannah. The family lived in Hereford then later moved to Haines. They lived a good portion of their lives — 38 years — on a family ranch in Haines. In her later years, Betty moved to Lebanon with her daughter and son-in-law.
She loved to work in her flower and vegetable garden. Every fall she would be busy canning and freezing fruits and vegetables. She also liked taking care of her chickens. She enjoyed having her grandchildren around, watching them grow up. She loved the holidays of Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, providing for all the trimmings for her family.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Claude and Ollie May LaMandin, her husband, Ronald I. Wendt, and her sister, Virginia Reis.
Survivors include her son and daughter-in-law, Owen and Anita Wendt of Haines; her daughter and son-in-law, Johannah and Charles Bushman of Lebanon; four grandchildren and 14 nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of one’s choice through Gray’s West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, September 14, 2004
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor