Elizabeth "Bettie" Towner Welsh

Elizabeth (“Bettie”) Towner Welsh past away peacefully on March 1, 2011 at 6:08 p.m. She was born on January 22, 1923 to John Breckenridge and Faith Gilmore Richardson in Tucson, AZ. She married Elverne (“Hap”) Gorham Towner, a US Navy Officer, on October 5, 1940, in Long Beach, and they were immediately transferred to Hawaii. Both her and Hap were Pearl Harbor survivors, and after the war they were stationed in Japan. In Japan she was baptized into the L.D.S. Church. She touched the lives of many serving in her various church callings, including the Relief Society Branch President in Japan. Together they traveled the world until Hap retired in 1959 in Seattle. She lost Hap to cancer in 1979.

Although she had a variety of interests and talents, genealogy was her lifetime passion. In Hawaii, she learned to fly and joined the Women Flyers of America. In addition to being an Officer’s wife, she later started her own Rye Basket Catering business, served as a City Clerk in Brier, WA, taught yoga for the Seattle Parks Dept, authored “Cancer Holiday” and, in later years, she lived and traveled in her 30’ Airstream trailer. While traveling in her Airstream Trailer in Arizona, she met and married Maurice H. Welsh, of Logan, Utah, in the summer of 1985. Together they served a mission at the Washington D.C. Visitor’s Center.

She is survived by her four sons, Stephen (Sheila), Richard (Janet), Eric (Anita), Mark (Carrie), 20 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren and at least four more due this spring. She is also survived by Larry Welsh (Sharen) and Roger Welsh (Connie) and 6 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.

Funeral service will be held on Friday, March 11th at 1:00 pm at Jenkins-Soffe South Valley, 1007 W. South Jordan Pkwy (10600 S.) where a viewing will be held from 11:00am-12:45 pm prior to services. Interment Abby View Memorial Park, Brier, WA.