Betty D. Salkield

Betty D. Salkield, died in Bellingham, on Thursday, Nov. 15, at the age of 95.

She was born in Denver, Colo., on Dec. 29, 1916, to George and Molly Singleton of Dietrich, Idaho, where she grew up on a farm outside of town.

The farm was called Star Lake and sometimes during the winter she would have to move into the Deitrich Hotel with her mother to be able to go to school. She married Jay V. Salkield on Sept. 12, l934, while she was still in high school. After missing one year of high school, she went back and graduated valedictorian of her 1937 class at Dietrich High School in Idaho.

She traveled with her husband while he was a telegraph operator for the Union Pacific Railroad. She gave birth to her only child, George Lawrence Salkield on Nov. 20, 1939. In 1945, she and Jay bought the Dietrich Mercantile store and ran it until 1954. She had a great sense of business and the business was a great success. The couple then moved to Warden for one year and then moved on to Seattle, where Jay worked for Boeing and she worked for a successful Seattle business.

They moved to Ritzville, in 1958, and ran the Tidewater Oil Distributor and the Empire Motel until their retirement in 1976. They built their retirement home on the Ritzville Golf Course and lived there until they moved to Spring Creek retirement home in Bellingham, in 2010. They were married for more than 77 years and had enjoyed a surprise 75th wedding anniversary party in Ritzville in 2009. Jay died on April 22, 2012.

She had a lot of respect and love for the Spring Creek Retirement Center and all of its staff and other residents. She loved to get to know her great-grandchildren during the last part of her life and it was great for the whole family to have her close by during her last years.

She is survived by her son, Larry (Audrey) Salkield formerly of Seattle, but now of Bellingham and Oro Valley, Ariz .; two grandchildren, Andy (Mary) Salkield of Bellingham and Molly (Frank) Lawrence of Seattle; great-grandchildren, Chloe and Oscar Salkield of Bellingham.

A private family celebration of life will be held next month.

Arrangements are entrusted to Whatcom Cremation and Funeral, Bellingham, Wash., 360-734-7073, http://wcremation.com.