Elizabeth Walls Boulton

Elizabeth or Betty as she became known by nearly everyone, was born in Glasgow on St Patrick's Day, 17th March 1926, the third and youngest child of David and Ann Marshall; she is survived by her elder sister Margaret and brother, Jim. They grew up in the East end of Glasgow, Scotland and were all very involved with High Carntyne Church, where their Dad was an elder. Betty's teenage years were dominated by the restrictions on life imposed by World War 2, but she still managed to indulge her passion for ballroom dancing – she used to say that her address could have been c/o Dennistoun Palais!

Betty became a proficient pianist at a young age, so much so that at the age of 12, she played the Wedding March at the wedding of her piano teacher, Emily to her husband John Manson. They reconnected over 40 years later, when Betty’s younger daughter, Janice, married John's nephew, Ian Manson!

Although Betty excelled academically at school, she chose to leave and go to work in London (for a company involved in the war work) instead of going on to Higher Education, much to the disappointment of the headmaster of Whitehill Secondary. During this time, she became an accomplished Secretary, using speedy shorthand typing and this stood her in good stead in later years.

Betty returned to Glasgow and at the age of 19, on 16th August 1945, married James Millar, one of 3 sailors all called Jim with whom she tripped the light fantastic. Her chosen Jim originated from Alva, Clackmannanshire before moving to Dennistoun in Glasgow. Apparently there was some difficulty in collecting Betty's flowers for the big day, due to the shop closing for VJ celebrations marking the end of WW2. Their first home together was a single end in Dennistoun and Betty later said that, despite having very little materially, these were among the happiest years of her life, as Jim was a kind and loving husband and father. A key part of their social circle were Johnnie and Margaret Saqui, with whom Betty went to school and their friendships lasted throughout their lives, especially as they also emigrated to Canada.

Betty and Jim's family additions began in 1949, with the arrival of Kenneth, followed by Ann in 1953 and lastly Janice in 1957. By this time, they were able to move to a 3-bedroom flat in Kelvindale in the West End of Glasgow and for 10 years, family life developed despite lots of the hardships experienced by most of the people around them. However, holidays were always prioritised and yearly visits to Carnoustie and St Andrews, then further afield in England and Wales, provided a highlight of fun and relaxation for Betty and the rest of the family. Strong friendships with the Hall and Hannah families were strengthened and again, went on to last throughout their lives (and are continued in their offspring). Betty also developed her enjoyment of keeping fit through The Women's League of Health and Beauty so much that she went on to become a teacher with the Glasgow Keep Fit Movement. This and her love of music making with the family, regular visits to her parents and friends in Carntyne and occasional dinner dances for which to dress up in a glamorous dress, gave Betty some respite from her main role as a full time Mum and housewife. She juggled the necessary family purchases by having an account in most of the large department stores in Glasgow City Centre. She took the phrase ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness' very seriously, especially when the Minister from Anniesland Parish Church was due to visit! She, along with all the family, was very involved in the life of the church through supporting various organisations and Betty often played the piano for them.

In the mid-sixties, the local Bicycle shop which Jim managed closed; he then had to regularly travel away from home with his new job as a salesman with Michelin, leaving Betty to keep order at home (as she did most of the time anyway!) Penrith Drive in Kelvindale was where they lived until 1971. The few years living up to this were very hard for Betty as her beloved Jim developed bowel cancer and after years of treatment which came too late, he died at the young age of 45. This was followed by months of visiting her Dad in hospital before he died of lung cancer in the autumn of the same year. As her Mum had a heart condition and was unable to live on her own, the family all moved in together to a slightly bigger house in Knightswood, another area of Glasgow's West End. These were not easy years for Betty either, as she and the family all struggled to cope with their grief in different ways and Mum returned to working as a private secretary in a lawyers firm to provide for her family. Her frustration with the B2 buses, which didn’t always come in time for work, prompted her to try to learn to drive and this was later achieved when she moved to Canada, where automatic cars are the norm.

As Betty and Jim did not make their proposed Silver Wedding trip to Canada primarily to visit her brother Jim, sister-in-law Jean and their large family, Betty visited herself and then took Janice for a holiday to Canada in 1973 and this began a new chapter in her life. Betty's ongoing love for dancing found a connection in John Boulton, a Yorkshire widower, who had two young children, Alison and Gordon. After a couple of years of being wooed by John, Betty made the difficult decision to leave her family in Scotland and make a new life with John and his family in Chemainus, Vancouver Island, near her own brother and family. The following year, her Mum also emigrated in her late seventies, to be near her daughter and son, Jim and family. Janice's plans to emigrate never materialised and there followed years of visits back and forward by whoever in the family could manage to do so within the constraints of work and finance. Betty missed her family in Scotland desperately, particularly not seeing much of her grandchildren Elaine, David, Karen, Jim, Jenny and Julie while they were growing up, but they all managed to visit her in Canada, as well as seeing her when she was back in Scotland. Kenneth and his wife Linda, along with son David and Linda’s sister Betty all had an extended stay due to flights being cancelled after the tragic 911 events in 2011.

After John Boulton died in 1991, Betty moved from their big house to a rented apartment, where she lived for about ten years, before moving to a large bright condominium, also on the outskirts of Chemainus.

In 2002, Betty was delighted when her daughter, Ann, emigrated to Vancouver Island to work as a nurse. The timing of this could not have been better, as after numerous investigations, Betty underwent a large stomach operation later that year and after a long fight recovered enough to return to her own home in January 2003. Worrying that her Mum might not make it through this health crisis, daughter Janice spent a month visiting over this period. As Betty was allowed out on Christmas day, she attempted to guide her two daughters through the cooking of Christmas Dinner from her armchair; however, it was just as well Betty was still on a very restricted liquid diet, as the dinner was practically inedible! She could never understand why her love of cooking and baking had not been taken on by her family. However, her love of music certainly was and continues in the following generations. Before Janice left to return to Scotland in January 2003, Betty was inadvisably attempting to join the Conga party in the restaurant they visited. Her fighting spirit helped her to make a good recovery and she even formed another close partnership with her friend Johnnie Saqui, who had lost his wife, also Betty’s close friend, Margaret, as she died that New Year, just before Betty was discharged from hospital.

Betty and Johnnie enjoyed a trip back to the UK in 2004, primarily for the Silver Wedding Party of Janice and Ian and they were all in good dancing form for the ceilidh. Unfortunately Betty had another major health scare in 2005, when a stroke and heart attack followed knee surgery, but again she fought her way back to a good quality of life, despite having to hang up her dancing shoes. Sadly, son-in-law Ian, died suddenly a few months after he and Janice visited that summer.

Betty and Johnnie continued to enjoy lots of fun times together, including various trips away and regular visits to the theatre and restaurants, until Johnnie had to give up his house and move to a Nursing Home in Duncan due to his health problems. Given that Betty was no longer driving by this time, their main contact latterly was by telephone, but their close companionship continued until Johnnie died in 2018. By this time, Betty was living with Ann, who had herself sadly been diagnosed with terminal cancer, but they enjoyed a few years of living together while health allowed.

Throughout the latter half of her life in Canada, apart from when she was too infirm to do so, Betty’s life revolved around a few key things:

Firstly, Betty cared for her Mum until her death in 1999 at the age of 100, both while in her own home and then by regular involvement in Chemainus Health Care Centre, where Betty played the piano to entertain the residents. By the time of her 100th birthday, Betty’s Mum had all 3 of her own family living fairly nearby, as Margaret and her husband Walter had also emigrated to Vancouver Island in 1991.

Secondly, Betty was very committed to her local parish church, where she served as a Secretary for 25 years, as well as helping with the organ playing and she even took up singing in the choir in her later years and wished she had done so earlier in life!

Thirdly, the local Seniors Centre (55 and over) played a big role in her social life and enabled her to continue her passion for dancing and even performing in annual shows until her knee problems prevented this. Other close friendships such as that with the Stenberg / Drysdale family also played an important part in Betty's life in Canada.

Betty was essentially a party animal at heart who enjoyed socialising whenever possible. She also loved her holidays (and collecting travel brochures!); apart from exploring most of Vancouver Island, parts of BC mainland and some cruises, a highlight was certainly her trip to New Zealand in 2001 to visit her cousin Nora and some friends. She also travelled back to Scotland whenever possible, the last time being in 2011, when she attended Janice’s second wedding to another ex-sailor Jim (Withers) and met her first great granddaughter, Emily, as a baby. This afforded a four generation photo opportunity along with Janice and daughter Julie. Her first great grandson, Cameron, was born soon after and she was able to meet him when he travelled to Canada with his Mum Sarah, Dad Jim Dowell and brother Keir several years later. In her later years, she also enjoyed meeting Aiden along with his Mum, Jenny and Stepdad Mike. Her other great grandchildren, Esther, Jessica and Lachlan and Alex only met her on screen, but thank goodness for the wonders of modern technology which has allowed that connection. Certainly, an improved form of communication on the old reel tapes sent back and forward to the Marshall family in their early days in Canada, although they are still fun to listen to!

Technology was especially valuable during the more recent lockdowns, due to Covid 19. Having cleared Betty’s own Condo in 2018 and emptied some more of the boxes dumped in Ann's living room in 2019, Janice was due to return in June 2020 to continue this task. However, not only were flights cancelled due to the pandemic, but Janice also received a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Betty’s sadness in coping with a second daughter having such a challenge to face seemed to be helped with regular brief chats on the phone and screen, although time differences presented difficulties, as Betty was now sleeping for large parts of the day. She was awake enough on her last Christmas day to watch some of her great grandchildren enjoying the wonders of Santa having visited. Unfortunately, soon after that, she had a fall and landed in hospital in Duncan with a broken bone in her neck. Once she recovered enough, she was transferred to the Chemainus Centre, where her own Mum spent the last 5 years of her life. Sadly, Betty was only to survive 9 days there before she passed away peacefully in her sleep on 9th February, shortly before her 95th birthday. Ann was allowed and able to visit regularly during that time with the support of good friends, Rosemary and Dawn, and Betty would have known that she was loved to the end of her life.

After a life well and fully lived on Earth, Betty is surely now reunited with those she loved who have gone before her to be with their maker in Heaven.