Beatrice "Bette" E. Keith

Bette Keith passed peacefully on 6 November 2012 in Beaverton, Oregon, at the age of 91. She was born in Killdeer, ND, on the 7th of June, 1921. She met her husband, Charles (Chuck), in Killdeer while attending Concordia Lutheran College as an Art Major. They married on 28 December 1941 and were married for 63 years when Chuck departed in January 2005. Chuck’s teaching career took them from Killdeer ND to Kalispell Montana, Bend OR and on to the Portland area. Bette continued her interest and activity in Art in Bend as a member of the “Sagebrushers”. She continued her Art education after raising their 2 children, attending the Museum Art School in Portland and taking classes at both Marylhurst and Reed colleges. She free lanced Graphic Arts in Portland for 10 years, sharing a studio with her daughter, Carol, for nine of those years. She did work for several of her instructors from the Museum Art School during that time. Bette moved to Ocean Park, WA with her husband in 1980 into the retirement home they designed and built together. This home is filled with the light of more than a dozen stained glass pieces she created – both installed as windows and hung within. She and Chuck were both members, and very active in the Ocean Park Lutheran Church. Bette was a member of the quilting group there for years. She also created stained glass windows for the church which remain there in the narthex and above the altar, and continue to be enjoyed by its parishioners. Bette volunteered for 5 years in Ocean Park helping the children enrolled in Ramona Ulbricht’s “Head Start” classroom with their artwork. She enjoyed this thoroughly and was written up for her contribution in local newspapers. In her own words: “I walk in and hear them all yell, ‘Hello, Bette!’ Makes me feel good. After the day I’m tired, but it’s a good tired. I’ll keep doing this as long as I can.” She was an outgoing person and so made and enjoyed friendships truly valuable to her throughout her life. She also loved to travel and in all her trips locally and abroad, she never came home without having made new friends. She loved doing so, kept in touch and sincerely cared that they do well in life. Bette and Chuck relocated to Beaverton, OR to be closer to family in May of 2002. Bette has been with family on a daily basis, well loved and cared for by both her children since Chuck’s departure in January 2005. She will be fondly remembered and missed as a wonderful, funny, extremely talented, dedicated & creative woman of faith, friend, mother and grandmother. Survivors include her son and daughter-in-law Bob and Wendi Keith; daughter and son-in-law Carol and Pat Brejcha; granddaughter Mindy Keith; step grandchildren Jessica, Kayleen and Steven Glantz as well as her surrogate grandchildren Ryan (also Godchild) and Cameo Ulbricht; brother-in-law Harold Keith and family in Vista, CA; the family of deceased brother-in-law Robert Keith in Washington State; and the family of deceased sister-in-law Helen Linnertz in North Dakota. A memorial service will be held at 4PM Saturday, 17 November at the Ocean Park Lutheran Church, where her ashes will be spread alongside her beloved husband, Chuck. Remembrances can be made to the Ocean Park Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 22/24002 “U” Street, Ocean Park, WA 98640. Arrangements by Autumn Funerals, Tigard.