Beth Denton

Clara Lucille “Beth” Denton 1921 – 2013 Born on February 13, 1921, in Boise, Idaho, the daughter of Troy and Estella Sitton grew up in the small suburb of Weiser. As a young girl, she loved her Shetland pony and proudly rode it in the local parades in town. She also had a pet goat that would chase the pony around the yard and provide her with hours of entertainment.

The family moved to Portland, Oregon and as a young adult, she and her best friend met two young men at the local tavern, John Duff and Pat Murphy. Being cautious, she told the gentlemen that her name was Beth and her friend’s name was Connie. The names stuck and so did the relationships; “Beth” married John and “Connie” married Pat.

Beth and John Duff were married for 10 years and in 1942, they gave birth to a baby daughter, Darlene Duff.

In 1950, Beth took a job as a waitress at the local Drug Store diner that was located below the famous Pendleton Shirt Company. She was a hard worker and earned the trust of the diner’s owner, Aggie and they became life-long friends.

Beth met and married her second husband, Louie Denton and in 1954 and moved her and Darlene into Louie’s house.

Through the years, Beth and Louie’s relationship certainly had its ups and downs as they were married and divorced, to each other, three separate times!

In 1956, Beth took a job as a waitress on a luxury cruise ship. It began a career that lasted, off and on, for more than 30 years with Matson, Presidents and the Pacific Far East Lines to name a few. In order to help facilitate her new career, in 1958, Beth, Louie and Darlene moved to San Diego, California. Between cruises, she worked as a waitress in the Crown Room at the world famous Hotel del Coronado, but she always went back to the sea.

In 1959, Beth and Louie welcomed the addition of a new son to the family, Douglas.

They soon realized that more of the luxury cruise routes originated at the port of San Francisco, so in 1961, the family moved north to San Jose, California.

Beth loved working on the ships. It was hard working 3 meals a day, but she enjoyed the camaraderie among shipmates. She got to see the world, with normal trips to Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand. She went on special trips to South America, Europe and around the world. She even went behind the Iron Curtain, to Russia during the Cold War! There was hardly any country in the world that had a sea port that she had not visited. She met celebrities like Cary Grant, Mickey Rooney, Jack Lord (Hawaii 5-O) and even Elvis Presley. She formed friendships with some of her shipmates that would last for the rest of her life.

The job also paid much better than a waitress position “on the shore” which was important, when in 1962, her and Louie had their final split and she became a single mother. Back then, Child Support and alimony was not really enforced like it is now, but she worked hard to insure that she didn’t need support from anybody.

Fiercely independent, but with the ability to make friends quickly, she became heavily involved with the AARP and Career Closet after she retired from shipping. She kept in shape by going to exercise classes twice a week and she became the president of the Red Hat Club. Her sense of humor and openly positive attitude seemed to attract people to her. Every time she went out, it seemed she made a new friend or four. Her 80th Birthday Party was attended by over 100 people!

Her passion was her house in San Jose, especially her flower garden in the backyard. She was up at 5:00 every morning pulling weeds and clipping bushes. She accomplished more by 9:00 AM than many would in a day. At night, she would love to soak in her beloved Jacuzzi tub that her children installed for her.

Beth was certainly not short-changed in life. She saw and experienced so much of the world. She became the Master of Ceremonies among her legion of friends. She laughed much and was loved enormously by her family. She was her own tough, hard-working, independent person. A great woman who lived 92 years of a full and fantastic life!

Beth is survived by her loving daughter Darlene and her loving son Douglas, 5 Grandchildren, 9 Great-Grandchildren and 2 Great-Great-Grandchildren.