Bette Mae Stordalen

Bette Mae was born in Everett, WA on October 31, 1927. (Yes, Halloween, and all who knew her knew that she totally self-identified as a good witch). She is survived by her two children and their families: David Stordalen, spouse Betty Stordalen of Lumberton, TX, granddaughter Diane Stordalen Burkman, husband Will and great grandchildren Brooke and Mason of Queen Creek, AZ; and Shannon Stordalen Burrow, spouse Bob Burrow of Bend, OR, and grandchildren Ryan Burrow of Santa Monica, CA, Sean Burrow of Bozeman, MT, and Courtney Burrow of Seattle, WA.

Bette Mae was born to Mamie Reinstedt Kameron and Barth Kameron in Everett, WA. Mamie grew up on the Reinstedt family homestead north of Bothell, Washington and Barth was from the Netherlands. Bette Mae’s father passed away when she was two. Her mother, a single mother in the 1930’s, returned to being a school teacher, specializing in special education including students with vision issues. They moved to Seattle when Bette Mae was four years old and settled in an apartment on Capital Hill. Bette Mae spent her summers on the Reinstedt farm north of Bothell. Her Uncle Bill ran the farm, and he kept a horse for her to enjoy during the summers. She learned to bridle it and ride bareback so she could head out onto the trails whenever she wanted. She remembered her summers on the farm as being very special. Bette Mae went to Broadway High School on Capital Hill, where her mother was also a teacher at the time.

Bette Mae graduated early from high school, having skipped several grades, and went to the University of Washington where she studied Textiles and received her BA. She joined Gamma Phi Beta sorority and made lifelong friends there. She met her husband, Kjell Stordalen at the University, who had come from Norway to study Forest Products, and they married in August of 1950. Their honeymoon was spent crossing the Atlantic on a cruise ship, traveling to live in Norway with Kjell’s family as newlyweds. After about a year in Norway, they returned to the United States and settled in Anacortes, Washington where Kjell worked at a lumber mill. This was where Bette Mae was invited to join the women’s educaational and philanthropic organization, PEO, which was a constant in her life as she moved around the country, giving her wonderful friendships and opportunities for good work and leadership.

Kjell’s career brought them next to Klamath Falls, Oregon, and then subsequently Jacksonville, Texas. During their years in Jacksonville, Bette Mae and Kjell adopted David Norman in 1960 and Shannon Karen in 1962. Kjell’s work subsequently took the family to live in Charlotte, North Carolina and Oak Ridge, Tennessee for short stints each, and ultimately they landed in Shelton, Washington in the late 1960s. Together Bette Mae and Kjell, along with their children, built their dream home on very rural piece of Puget Sound with views of Mount Rainier across the water where they spent several years. Work ultimately intervened again and brought the family back to Texas, this time to the Gulf Coast town of Beaumont in 1975 where David and Shannon went to junior high and high school. Kjell passed away in 1980 after a battle with lung cancer.

During this period, Bette Mae was a long time volunteer in the local hospital, at the high school, as well as a docent at the local art museum. She also continued to be involved in PEO as several time president of the local chapter as well as in some regional leadership roles. Bette Mae spent the next few years exploring the world, traveling to the Norway, Soviet Union, China, Europe and Greece.

In 1991, Bette Mae returned to her roots in the Seattle area with her granddaughter, Diane, whom she ended up raising from the age of two. While keeping very busy raising her granddaughter, Bette Mae also built a new dream home in Shoreline with a view of Puget Sound and the Olympic mountains where she loved watching the sunsets and the boat traffic, and picking blackberries on the nearby Bear Trail. In 2009, Bette Mae and Shannon traveled to Africa, both Botswana and South Africa, to celebrate Bette Mae’s 80th birthday and to fulfill a lifelong dream. It was an epic trip.

Bette Mae spent her later years in various leadership roles in the women’s organization P.E.O., as well as walking, gardening and enjoying her dog Tiger. She surprised family again by getting engaged on New Year’s Eve, 2012 to Tom Schultz, introduced by his best friend of Mark Gilkey, who also happened to be the best man in her wedding to Kjell decades earlier. She married Tom in May of 2013, and they enjoyed several years of travel and lovely companionship.

In January of 2020, Bette Mae and Tom moved into Aegis Assisted Living in Shoreline. Tom predeceased Bette Mae in September of 2020.

Bette Mae was an elegant, charming, intelligent and fun lady who will be missed by all who knew her.