Betty O Kuhl

Betty Carol Olivier Kuhl, beloved wife of Howard Lynn Kuhl, died suddenly on December 24, 2020, just two days after celebrating her 96th birthday at Emerald Heights Corwin Center in Redmond, Washington. Her death, while not unanticipated due to many years of battling Parkinson’s Disease, nevertheless came as a shock to her family after a short one-day decline.

Betty was born the eldest of six children on December 22, 1924 in Hull, Iowa to Arthur William (Bill) Olivier and Johanna (Wesselink) Olivier where she grew up surrounded by loving relatives. She attended Hull High School and then continued her education at the Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing in Sioux City, Iowa, graduating in 1946 as a Registered Nurse in one of the first classes of the U. S. Cadet Nurse Corps. Following graduation Betty worked for the V. A. in Minneapolis, MN and Palo Alto, CA. After joining the U. S. Naval Reserve Nurse Corps in 1950, Betty was sent to the U. S. Naval Hospital in San Diego, CA where she met and married her husband, Howard L. Kuhl, MD, in 1951. After both were honorably discharged from the Navy, their life as a couple took them to Wisconsin, back to California, and finally to Washington state. Daughters Carol, Karen, and Mary were born to Betty and Howard in San Diego, Milwaukee, and Castro Valley. In 1958 the family of five moved to Modesto, CA, where Betty and Howard reared their girls and made lifelong community connections until their retirement move to Bellevue, WA in 1990. Betty worked very briefly as a nurse, but early on decided to be a full-time homemaker, supporting Howard in his growing medical practice and caring for their three children.

Betty and Howard were truly inseparable for nearly sixty-nine years; only Howard’s death in March 2020 parted them. One of their favorite first dates was to go to the Mississippi Ballroom at the Marine Officers’ Club in San Diego to listen to songs such as their favorite, “The Tennessee Waltz.” Theirs was a love for the ages. To know Betty was to know her devotion to her beloved husband, Howard.

Betty was adventurous and did not fear the unknown nor did she hesitate to take on new challenges and many times adopted practices before they were commonplace. When Betty and Howard’s second child, Karen, was born with mental and physical challenges, they did not hesitate to keep her at home when sending such children to residential institutions was more the expected norm. Life as a mother to three small children, one of whom had special needs, did not stop Betty, however, from living her own life to the full. She could often be seen riding her bicycle on narrow Central Valley country roads, embracing exercise and a healthy lifestyle before physical fitness trends were popular. Betty, a lifelong believer in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, was active as a deacon in her church, faithfully attended worship wherever she went, and loved to read and study the Bible. She volunteered in her daughters’ classrooms and drove them faithfully to lessons and activities, supporting her family in every possible way. At times she had to make long solo drives to take Karen to doctor appointments at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, but she never complained. Betty’s family was always top priority in her life. She and Howard both became involved in the special needs community of Modesto through their daughter, Karen, helping to establish new and better educational models for the mentally retarded, a pursuit which continued even after Karen’s death in 1968.

Betty loved travel and adventure and joined Howard on many trips in both the United States and around the world, including Europe, the British Isles, Australia, China, Canada, all over California, and many parts of the United States. She was known for making and maintaining international friendships through her active correspondence. A second home in Mendocino, California, was a special retreat for Betty, who loved to walk and hike; she was known for always carrying a bag to pick up trash on her way to and from nearby Irish Beach. In all her travels, however, she never forgot her Iowa roots and was very proud of her Dutch heritage. While recovering from major surgery one summer, Betty spent hours digging deep into her Olivier heritage, writing many letters and making dozens of phone calls to delve into her French Huguenot roots. Betty was not one to waste a minute when she could be busy and productive, once again ahead of her time in genealogy research (and with no internet!).

After Howard’s retirement in 1989, the Kuhls moved to Bellevue, WA with their final move to Emerald Heights Retirement Community in Redmond in 2004. While in Washington Betty was active in her church, loved walking all over Bellevue with Howard, and reveled in the beauty (and rain!) of the Pacific Northwest. Their second home on Whidbey Island became a favorite retreat where Betty loved to read, go on long walks, explore the island, and entertain family (especially grandchildren) and friends. Betty always had a flair for entertaining and set beautiful tables; she also had a wonderful sense of fashion and was known for her beauty, elegance, and grace. An outfit was not complete without matching accessories, especially big, colorful, dangling earrings!

Wife, mother, sister, aunt, friend – Betty went by many titles. By far her favorite role in her later years was undoubtedly “Grandma” to granddaughters Joanna, Kathleen, Meghan, and Molly, and to her “one and only” grandson, Sean. Betty treasured being a grandmother and lived to create special memories with each and every grandchild.

Betty is survived by sisters Valera Olivier McAdoo, Juanita Olivier McCauley, and Norma Olivier Baker (Harold); daughters Carol Kuhl and MaryJo Kuhl Gallagher (David); grandchildren Joanna Owen, Kathleen Lorenz (John), Meghan Gallagher, Molly Gallagher, and Sean Gallagher; great-grandchildren Violet, Penny, and Maisie Lewis, and Sylvie and Adele Lorenz, and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard Lynn Kuhl; daughter, Karen Lee Kuhl; parents Bill and Johanna Olivier; sister Gloria Rae Olivier Beck; and brother Alonzo Duane Olivier.

A memorial service will be held at Emerald Heights in Redmond, Washington, after COVID-19 restrictions for large gatherings are lifted. Betty’s remains will be interred next to Howard’s at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington.

Betty’s family has requested that donations be made to The Salvation Army for those wishing to honor her memory.