Mrs. Bodil (Betty) Elizabeth Nielsen Kastelan

Bodil (Betty) Elizabeth Kastelan (Bell) nee Nielsen suddenly passed away on Thursday November 20, 2008. She will be remembered for her generosity, dry wit, Christianity, tenacity and her ability to pick her life up and make the best after a setback. Setbacks she had, but she always came back strong.

Betty was born in Calgary in the depths of the depression on July 3, 1932. She was the fourth child of immigrants from Denmark. Her father Lauritz Nielsen, traveled alone to Canada in the mid 1920s in search of a better life, temporarily leaving his family in Denmark. He moved back to Denmark for a year and the family decided they were better off in Canada. In 1927 her father immigrated and worked in Calgary to earn enough to bring his wife, Ellen Marie and his three children over the ocean. After two years, Ellen the three children (John, Asger and Martha) arrived at the port of Halifax on October 29th 1929. Ironically, on that day the NY Stock Exchange collapsed and Lauritz was hard pressed to find work for the next decade.

Lauritz had apprenticed as a gardener (probably what would today be a horticulturalist) and had to work seasonally on farms in the Calgary area. The family survived on relief (a poor substitute of present day welfare) and his seasonal wages.

In 1940 Betty moved with her family (now increased to five children with the birth of Inger in 1936) to Kamloops BC where her father was stationed during the WW II. During the war Lauritz was moved to Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island as part of the home guard. At the end of the war the family moved to Albernie BC where Betty attended school until age 16. She learned to salmon fish in the Albernie Canal and learned to love being out on the saltchuck.

In 1948 Betty left for Edmonton Alberta to go to Condordia College to finish her high school and train as a teacher. In 1950, while working as a waitress in Chilliwack to earn money to finish her college education, she met Wayne Edgar Bell (1920-1963) whom she fell in love with and married. Betty and Wayne variously lived together on the Bell family homestead up the Vedder River, in Nanaimo, in Alberni, and finally back in Chilliwack in 1961 when Wayne's health began to fail.

Betty and Wayne had five children together, with the youngest being two years old, when Wayne died in 1963. After her children were all in school, in 1968 Betty went to night school and learned bookkeeping and office administration. She was working at York Farms Cannery in Sardis when she met Edmund Peter Kastelan (1920-1987), fell deeply in love, and married on December 20, 1968.

In 1970 Betty and Ed, with three of the children, moved to Quesnel, BC where Ed had been hired as a School Bus mechanic. Betty's sixth and last child (Valerie) was born on October 16, 1970. The family hunted, fished, and camped in the Cariboo for ten years.

In 1980 Betty and Ed moved to Cranbrook, BC and there they opened a Roller Skating Rink. It was one of Betty and Ed's life long dreams to own their own business. Unfortunately, the Roller Rink began to fail and their partners forced them out of the business, leaving them with all their savings gone and no work.

In 1983 Betty attended the College of the Rockies and upgraded her Office Administration skills learning to use a computer. With Ed sick and unable to work, Betty worked as a bookkeeper in Cranbrook for two churches and a florist shop. In 1987 Ed Kastelan had a massive heart attack and died, widowing Betty for the second time at 54 years of age.

Betty and Valerie moved to Vancouver in 1988 and Betty got a full time job with Dr. Korec doing his bookkeeping and reception. She worked for nine years with Dr. Korec who became her good friend. She retired at age 65.

After she retired, Betty moved back to the old Bell homestead on the Vedder River and rented a mobile house trailer from her niece, Mary Lou Bell. Unfortunately, after a year the trailer caught fire and she had to move out. She moved to Powell River and started her life over again with her daughter Valerie, who she lived with for eight years.

As Betty's health began to fail she moved into a care home in Powell River and in February 2008 she moved back to Chilliwack to live at Cascades Lodge. She died suddenly without any pain Nov. 20, 2008.

Betty is survived by her daughters Gail Bell (Bernie Hartinger), Maureen Vair (John) and Valerie Kastelan (Al Redikopp). She is survived by her sons Donald Bell (Sharron), Richard Bell (Bev Higgins) and Theodore (Ted) Bell. All of her grandchildren, whom she loved dearly, still survive her: Wayne Bell, Jennifer Vance, Jason Bell, Theresa Vair, Allison Vair, Emily Bell Higgins Josh Redikopp, and Ethan Redikopp. Betty especially wanted to move back to Chilliwack to see her only great- grandchild – Sierra Jade Vance. Betty's brother John Nielsen and her sister Inger Grieve both survive her.

As noted earlier, Betty was predeceased by both her husbands – Wayne Edgar Bell and Edmund Peter Kastelan. She is also predeceased by her siblings Asger Nielsen and Martha Hildebrant.

Betty was a life long believer in the Christian faith. Her most beloved apostle was John, and she treasured his ministry of love. She knew there was no hell and that her God would not torture his children anywhere for eternity. She is now basking in the ever-loving gaze of her Lord and God.

A Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, November 27th at Henderson's Funeral home in Chilliwack at 2:00 pm. A viewing for family and friends will be held 7:00-9:00 pm on Wednesday and 1:00 to 1:55 pm on Thursday. In lieu of flowers, a donation the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be most appropriate.

The family would like to extend our sincere thanks to the staff of the Cascade Lodge in Chilliwack for their respect and care for Betty during her stay with them. They do a great job.