Betty Lorraine Smith

Betty Lorraine Hample entered this world on March 23, 1926, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, joining parents, Carl and Vivian and older brother, Maury.

After graduating from high school, she worked as a graphic artist, beautifully colorizing black-and-white photographs by hand. After leaving her photography position, she began working at Kroger, where she met her future husband, Orie Smith. They married in 1948 and began a family, settling in Lowell, where they ran a small advertising newspaper. Wanting to try his hand at farming, Orie moved his family to a small acreage in Saranac.

Betty was a traditional stay-at-home mother during these years. Three daughters, homemaking, gardening, canning and sewing kept her very busy. Once her children were in high school, however, she began working outside the home. In 1970, the Smiths’ adventuresome spirits took them to Haines, Alaska. During those years, she held a variety of positions, including purchasing and operating a small janitorial service with Orie.

Betty worked hard and made friends easily. She loved people and shared her husband’s love of animals, co-founding an animal shelter with him. When he wanted to purchase a small commercial fishing vessel, they learned the trade, and fished for salmon along the inland waters of southeast Alaska, earning her the title of “Captain Betty” in her later years. After making their home in Alaska for 35 years, the Smiths retired to the Upper Peninsula in their home state of Michigan.

Betty was a devoted wife and mother. Her sense of humor kept her family entertained, and her lovely smile and sparkling blue eyes drew her to the hearts of everyone she met. In 2011, Betty lost her husband of 63 years and moved to Warrenton, Oregon, to live with her daughter. She remained in Warrenton until she entered heaven’s gate on Sept. 25, 2016. No service is planned.

She will be greatly missed, and is survived by her three daughters and their husbands, Diane and Richard McCann of Warrenton, Dawn and Marvin Randall of Cadillac, Michigan, and Robin and Al Near of Post Falls, Idaho. Betty is also survived by five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Although Alzheimer’s left her bedridden and unable to communicate, Betty never allowed it to steal her joy for life, and we who knew her well can visualize her dancing before the Lord on heaven’s beautiful streets of gold.