Betty Lou Lee

Betty Lou Tipp was born in Portland, Oregon to Henry and Minda (Kinney) Tipp on September 8, 1931. She was the youngest of five siblings and was sister to Harry, Zola, Verna, and Norma. As a young girl, Betty loved to roller-skate around her neighborhood and unlike most children her age she did not like sleepovers! She had a great love for animals and this love only grew stronger throughout her life. Betty attended school at Portland Union Academy (now named Portland Adventist Academy) and she received her diploma from Portland Union Academy in 1948.

Shortly after graduation, she met Bill Lee. Their courtship was brief and the two were wed on February 11, 1950. Their first home together was in Southeast Portland. Bill was enlisted in the US Army and shortly after they were married, he was sent to Korea to aid in the war effort during the Korean Conflict.

Betty and Bill were blessed with three children. Daughter Nancy was born in 1950, daughter Billie was born in 1952, and Debra was born in 1954.

Betty enjoyed the beach and the young family would take numerous memorable trips to the Oregon Coast together. On the coast, Betty loved hunting for agates.

Betty was a lifelong member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Betty lived a life of service to her fellow human beings . She had a great love for people and she especially loved helping people. She worked as a clerical specialist for the Indochinese Cultural and Service Center (later named the Immigrant Refugee Committee Organization, IRCO). Betty loved being able to help people of different nationalities with their transition to life in the United States. She helped and supported thousands of people through immigration process. Her love of people continued right up until her last days. During her time at Cornerstone Care, Betty could be found at the nurses’ station keeping the nurses company and helping out.

If Betty was asked what she wanted to be remembered for, she would say it was for the love of her Lord.

Betty was a passionate, avid walker. Every day on her lunch break, she was out for an hour enjoying the fresh air and getting her heart rate up. For a time, she served as a test subject for Adidas footwear research and development. They would mail her a new pair of sneakers and she would wear them on her walks for a specified period. She would box them up and send them back to the lab for testing to see how their materials were holding up under the daily paces Betty was putting them through. Even in her later years under the care of assisted living, Betty was out walking any time she could.

For relaxation, in her spare time, Betty enjoyed knitting, crocheting, and working on word find books.

As mentioned previously, Betty loved all animals. She liked to feed the strays that came into her life and she did not discriminate. She would lovingly feed a family of skunks that would frequent her back yard and she was never offensively sprayed even one time!

Betty is predeceased by her husband Bill; daughter, Nancy Jo Hart; grandson, Darrell Tolver; siblings, Harry Tipp, Zola Sanford, Verna Bower, and Norma Ley.

Betty is survived by her daughters, Debbie Achziger (Dave) of Carson, WA, and Billie Holcomb (Dave) of Lyle, WA; grandchildren, Angie Haugen (Russell) of Vancouver, WA, Gretchen Strode of Portland, OR, Jason Strode (Kori) of Vancouver, WA, Ben Holcomb (Tracy) of Seattle, WA, Amy Chadwell (Nick) of Lincoln, NE, Derrick Tolver (Jennifer) of Portland; seven great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild.

A service of remembrance will be held in Skyline Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, Clatskanie Room, 4101 NW Skyline Blvd, Portland, OR, on Thursday, November 29, 2018, at noon.

Betty will be privately laid to rest in Skyline Memorial Gardens next to Bill.

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Remembrances may be made to Kenneth Cox Ministries at www.KennethCoxministries.Org