Betty L. Snow, 91, died Dec. 27, 2012, at the Friendship Terrace in Homer. The family held a private memorial to scatter her ashes in Kachemak Bay. The extended family will gather in August.
Betty was born Feb. 11, 1921, in Lima, Ohio, to Waldo and Elizabeth Berryman. Despite the Great Depression, Betty grew up in a loving home and had a carefree childhood. She enjoyed music, athletics, horses, and the out of doors. In her youth she swam competitively and enjoyed swimming into her 80s. She attended Rochester School of Music in New York, and studied, taught and enjoyed music all her life.
When WWII broke out Betty enlisted in the Navy. She was in the very first group of WAVES. She enlisted, “because her father had only one son to give to his country.” She was stationed in San Diego; there she met petty officer Henry Randall Snow. They were married after the war and made their home in Lima, Ohio, then California. Together they had four children.
After her divorce Betty devoted her life to her children and her music. She had a flair for style and an eye for beauty. She was a self-taught artist working in watercolor and clay. She instilled an appreciation of the arts and creativity in her children. She was an avid reader and writer, filling journals with her poetry. She had a keen interest in politics, and sent letters to the editor on many issues. Betty loved to entertain, especially when three or four generations of her family could share a meal together.
Betty traveled between California, Alaska and South Carolina to spend time with her children and grandchildren, settling permanently in Homer in 1987, where she enjoyed the arts community and was inspired by the grandeur and beauty of Kachemak Bay.
Betty is preceded in death by her parents, Waldo and Elizabeth Berryman; brother Waldo “Bud” Berryman, and sister Barbara Cooper. She is survived by sister Ruth Cunha of California; four children, Jill Berryman and spouse Jon Berryman; Joy Steward and spouse Stuart Schmutzler; John Snow and partner Jane Russell, all of Homer; Jinx Strelkauskas of South Carolina; seven grandchildren, Samantha Joyce, Jennifer Strelkauskas, Sabrena Berryman, Daniel Strelkauskas, Orion Berryman, Beau Berryman; and four great grandchildren, Aidan Trummel, Collin Trummel, Odin Berryman and Ender Berryman.
“Good-bye Mom, you will always be in our hearts and in the beauty we see around us,” her family said.