Elizabeth Beardslee Trebbien

January 29, 1923-October 1, 2015

Elizabeth “Betty” Trebbien passed away peacefully on October 1, 2015 with family by her side.

Betty was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 29, 1923 to Lillian Bertha Severin and George Clarke Beardslee, Sr., and had two brothers Richard and George Jr. and a sister Marjorie Lu.

As a child, Betty had fond memories of catching lightning bugs in the summer time and stringing June bugs with a needle and thread to “fly” them. Her daddy had a great sense of humor and she loved to watch him in his work shop building scooters out of old skates and doll furniture for his daughters. He used to take his girls to the shore where there was a lighthouse and blow with all his might at the lighthouse when the light turned away from them, telling them that he’d blown out the light. His little girls were quite amazed with how he could blow out the light in the lighthouse. The family liked to play instruments and sing together in the evenings. Betty learned to play the violin and would later play 1st violin in the school orchestra and sing second soprano in the school choir.

Betty had an interest in photography as a child and learned to take and develop pictures from the neighbor next door who had his own darkroom. After graduating high school, Betty moved to Memphis, Tennessee where she lived in a boarding house and attended Navy Radio Training School. Nine months later she got a job at a photo lab in Dayton, Ohio at Wright Field and a year and a half later joined the U.S. Navy as a Wave and was stationed at NAS Jacksonville as an aerial photographer. After her honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy she attended the Southwest Photo-Arts Institute in Dallas, Texas earning a diploma in "Professional Photography" in May, 1947. Her love of photography continued and later on in life she even built her own box camera which actually worked quite well.

In 1948 she moved with her brother Richard to Los Angeles, California. In October, 1949 she and a couple girlfriends went to a dance at the Palladium in Hollywood where Freddie Martin and his band were playing. That night she met a handsome fellow and they talked and danced the night away – that handsome fellow would become her husband and she was married to Virgil Trebbien on September 2, 1950. Virgil taught Betty to golf and bought her a set of clubs and the two shared a love of golf and played together for many years.

The couple had four children – Paul, Richard, Michael, and Marjorie and moved to San Diego in 1957 and soon purchased a brand new home in Lemon Grove where they raised their children.

There really wasn’t anything Betty couldn’t do if she set her mind to it. She was very ingenious and crafty and had many hobbies. Each child got a homemade personalized cake every year on their birthday. She learned to sew and made everything from Barbie and Ken clothes for her daughter to t-shirts for the boys and matching shift dresses for herself and her daughter. She liked to paint ceramics and even built cabinets in the family bathroom.

Betty was known for her quick wit and could tell a joke better than most. Very musically inclined since childhood, and through the years she taught herself to play the harmonica, ukulele, guitar, and accordion. Later in life she bought a keyboard, took lessons and enjoyed playing for many years.

Always involved, Betty was team mom for her sons’ baseball teams while her husband Virgil coached. She volunteered with the Red Cross and was a member of the PTA and the Mt. Miguel Boosters Club while her children were in school.

Every summer the family would pack up the station wagon and go on family vacations. They visited Disneyland, Yellowstone Park, Mount Rushmore, and the Carlsbad Caverns, as well as family in Santa Cruz and Pacific Grove, California, Montgomery, Alabama and Milford, Iowa.

After the children were grown she loved camping, fishing and traveling with Virgil and was a member of the Lemon Grove VFW Auxiliary Campers Group and the San Diego Elks 168 “Trailblazers” Campers Group. After Virgil retired they bought an RV and enjoyed traveling and camping extensively in the Southwest.

Betty became a member of the Sungarden Terrace Assisted Living Community in 2011 and made many friends with fellow residents and staff alike. She’d always loved to play games when her children were young and Betty never lost her competitive edge. At Sungarden, she could always be found playing bingo if there was a game going on and had a standing “date” every evening to play dominoes with her friend Jack.

Betty will be dearly missed by her family, her extended family at Sungarden Terrace Assisted Living Facility and everyone who was fortunate enough to call her “friend”.

She was preceded in death by her husband Virgil and is survived by her sons Paul (Joy), Richard (Sue Ann), and Michael Trebbien, daughter Marjorie Cappiello, six grandchildren, one great granddaughter, two great grandsons and third great grandson due any day now. Betty is also survived by her dear sister Marjorie Whitaker (Ken), sister-in-law JoAnn, brother-in-law Ray Trebbien (Jeanne), brother-in-law Jim Trebbien (Pearl), and many nieces and nephews and their families.

A Celebration of Life was held on Thursday, October 8, 2015 for her neighbors and caregivers at Sungarden Terrace in Lemon Grove, CA.

A private Military Funeral Honors service is planned for November, 2015.

Memorial donations are suggest to Sharp HospiceCare Fund (www.sharp.com/foundation or 619.740.4200).

Please sign the Guest Book and share your memories of Betty.