Betty Lou Dowie

Betty was born July 30, 1927 in Puyallup, Washington to John Pierce Leavitt and Rachel Leavitt nee Lund. She grew up in Puyallup with her parents and older brother Jack, next door to her paternal grandmother's home near Puyallup High School.

She was very close to her grandmother, and visited every day after school to snack on cookies that always filled the cookie jar in the kitchen. Try as she might to be stealthful, her grandmother's scotty dog always heard the cookie jar lid and came running. 

She had many stories about growing up during the Great Depression and World War II. Her family had no refrigerator, only an ice box, so they got regular deliveries of ice. In summer when the ice truck came, she and the other children in the neighborhood ran out to get ice shavings to eat.

One of her jobs was to take the cream from the family cow and churn it to make butter - by hand, of course.  Her mother cooked over a wood stove until one day she entered a baking contest and won the grand prize for a coconut cake she made; the prize was a new electric stove.

During summers, Betty joined her friends in the fields picking strawberries and raspberries, and vegetables on the valley's truck farms.  

Betty graduated from Puyallup High School and then attended Central Washington State College in Ellensburg. There, she met Don Dowie, and the two fell in love, became engaged, and married in 1948. In 1950, they had their first child, Susan, with Laurie and Robbie following soon thereafter. Don Junior came along as somewhat of a surprise several years later.

Betty and Don were married over 50 years, until Don's passing in 2002.Betty worked tirelessly as a homemaker. She sewed the children's clothing, tended the vegetable garden, canned fruits and vegetables for the winter, and prepared nearly all the family meals. This was fortunate, since her husband was not highly skilled in the kitchen in most respects. Her meatloaf, mashed potatoes, roast beef, spaghetti, and chicken 'n dumplings were particularly noteworthy, along with her cookies and pies.

She also took care of the older relatives on both sides of the family, all while raising her four children. She was an active member in the Philanthropic Education Organization, or PEO, for many years, serving as chapter president on multiple occasions. She made many long-lasting friendships there.

Sensing her kindness, children and animals flocked to her. As a child while picking strawberries, a pigeon adopted her out of nowhere. Archie the pigeon followed her home. He then lived at the house. He walked with her to school in the morning. In the afternoon, he returned to the school and perched on the windowsill of her classroom, waiting for her to finish so they could walk home together.

The local paper got wind of this special relationship and published an article, "Mary Had a Little Lamb, but Betty Had a Pigeon." Later, when she had her own family, the neighborhood children often congregated at the house in Summit View to play, knowing it was a safe place to be. Stray animals (usually cats) often found their way to the home as well, sensing a good place to reside.

Once, even a rooster arrived and took up residence. "Stew," as he was known, lived there for quite some time. He followed her around the yard each day, and even managed to get a ride in the car at one point. Betty had gone into the house to get something, and left the car door open. She returned and started down the road, only to discover Stew in the back seat.