Elizabeth Louise McClintock

Elizabeth (Betty) Louise McClintock, aged ninety-three, died in her sleep on March 3, 2020, at Kaiser Hospital in Richmond, California. She had been readmitted to the hospital after suffering complications from stent repair surgery, which took place in December 2019. She leaves behind many family and friends.

Betty was born in San Francisco on May 26, 1926, to Richard and Bertha (Cummings) Pyne. Betty had three siblings: an older brother and sister, Robert and Audine; and a younger brother John. The family moved to Oakland where Betty attended public school, graduating from Oakland Technical High School in February 1944. She experienced a difficult childhood due to a challenging homelife and the family’s financial strains during the Great Depression.

As a teenager, she independently pursued religious instruction and received the sacraments of Holy Communion and Confirmation. After high school, she worked at the California Department of Unemployment for almost nine years. Betty also joined the St. Anthony’s Young People’s Club, an affiliate of the Federated Catholic Clubs of Oakland. She and friends from the youth group formed a sewing club, which met monthly. Over time, the sewing get-togethers expanded into luncheons, dinners, and other social events. The group met for nearly seventy years. Her dear friend from the youth group, Lorraine Heinemann, is the last surviving member of the sewing club.

Another friend from the youth group was Arline Higgs; Betty was the maid of honor at Arline’s wedding. Arline invited Betty on a double date with a friend of her husband’s. A year later, on May 10, 1952, Betty married her blind date, Stanford McClintock, at St Jarlath’s Catholic Church in Oakland. Theirs was a happy marriage, lasting over forty years, until Stanford’s death at the age of seventy-two in 1994.

Betty left her job in 1952 and she and Stan spent the next thirty years raising eight children in the three-bedroom, one-bathroom house on Hemlock Street. Stan expanded the living space with a two-story addition and another bathroom to accommodate the growing family. In addition to the many daily responsibilities to her large family, Betty also made time to attend her kids’ sports games, and was a Cub Scout den mother.

Betty and Stan were proud that all their children attended college and established careers in electrical and software engineering, banking and finance, the visual arts, law, and health. Betty found spending time with her twelve grandchildren especially gratifying. She was able to experience the fun of children, without the clean-up and discipline. Though not a pet lover, she was tolerant of the many granddogs that accompanied her adult children when visiting. Betty’s home became known as the “Hermitage,” and was the venue for most birthday, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas celebrations. The grandchildren remember Grandma Betty’s kitchen as always stocked with her homemade chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, and mountain cookies. Magic shows, musical performances, and sleepovers were all associated with her home. Over the years there were many outings to San Francisco, the Oakland and San Francisco Zoos, and many other local places of interest with children and grandchildren.

Faith was important to Betty. She attended Mass regularly and in her senior years, she enjoyed sitting in her backyard in the mornings, weather permitting, and praying the Rosary. She would from time to time let her grandchildren know she was praying for them.

Betty delighted in lunches with her sister-in-law Donna McClintock and her niece Kathy Harris, and relished visits from her sister-in-law, Betty Livingston. She also enjoyed her walking group and Assumption Church’s knitting club. Betty was a voracious reader who regularly borrowed mysteries, biographies, and popular novels from the local library.

Betty is survived by eight children and twelve grandchildren: Joseph (Terry Lyngso) McClintock, Matthew (Joan) McClintock (Emily and Natalie Yau), Nathan (Karen) McClintock (Judy Varney, Bobby and Jesse McClintock, Marissa and Erica McClintock) Cameron (Sharon) McClintock (Stuart McClintock), Ann (Mike Cushing) McClintock (Cheryl, Gregory and Brendan Cushing), Dana (Marcia Blick) McClintock, Susan McClintock (Aubyana McClintock Clarke), and William McClintock. She is also survived by her sister-in-law and dear friend Betty Livingston (George) and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband Stanford; her son Mark (six days old at the time of his death in 1954); and a daughter-in-law, Vicki. Betty was also preceded by her three siblings; her brother-in-law Bud and his wife Donna; and many of her friends. Shortly before her death, Betty said she was ready to go home to God. She is sorely missed by all who knew and loved her.