What I remember most about my Auntie Betty was her unwavering devotion to animals, She once told me,when I was very young, that you can tell a lot about a person about how they care for those who can not care for themselves. She will be missed. Peggy Skorich

I will always remember Betty as having a twinkle in her eyes, a wicked sense of humor and a warm and caring heart. We didn't actually meet until i was in my thirties. It had taken me a while to find her.  She found me when i was a baby and she changed my diaper. Of course, i didn't know about that until much later. We were half sisters.  After having gotten to know her, i wished i had had her as a sister in my early years.  She and i both loved animals.  She fed the strays, took in strays, fed wild things like racoons and housed a motherless family of opossums in her bathtub.  What a GREAT lady.  Sadly, we lost touch after my son Jacob died. I was just too depressed.  Summer somehow found me and we hooked up again.  I'm going to miss Betty even if it was just talking by phone.  However, I believe she is happily in God's heavens with her loved ones and with all of his tame and wild animals. And one day, we shall all be reunited with her.  Lovely Lady!!--signed Linda Arts Amundsen

May you rest in peace, Grandma.  You were such a firecracker and always spoke your mind. I remember feeding the squirrels, racoons, and opossums in your back yard. Your wigs, garage sale hunting, collecting of cabbage patch kids, baseball cards, antiques, dolls, and many other things.  
I will always remember your house being open to me and my friends for all the frozen pizzas we could eat during our lunch breaks when we were young and poor.
Your memorable phone greeting (and grandpa had his own not to forget).
I know your last decade was not your best and watching you lose your memories and spark that made you you was hard. Made me happy for the time I did have with you both when i was younger and our weekly phone calls after grandpa died before age took its hold and wish my kids had the chance to know the real you even though you were imperfect (like the rest of us are in our own ways).  I am so happy to know you are free from the disappointments and pain of this life.

When my son, Dan, was 11-12 years old he was very sick.  Aunt Betty asked Dan what he wanted from Texas.  Dan said he wanted a saddle (I don't know why he asked for a saddle since we live in the city and have never been involved with horses).  Well Aunt Betty sent Dan a saddle.  He kept it in his room for years on a holder my Dad made for it.  Dan is now 33 years old and still talks very fondly of Aunt Betty. Denny and I have very fond memories of Aunt Betty-especially how much she liked animals.

I have many good memories of your mom and all of you when you would visit us.Ron  and I send our love  Ron and Jennifer Burrell

Memories of my mother by Laura Matau:

Here are just some of the many good and positive memories I have of my mother to share.  She certainly wasn't perfect and had many flaws that are also part of my memories, but she was my mother and my father loved her with all of his heart. 

My father was in the military, so we moved every three years.  We barely ever saw our extended family back in Gary, Indiana.  Mom had 4 children 3 dogs and a cat when we moved to my parent's retirement choice Austin, Texas.
  
My mother hated the thought that people or animals would be thirsty, hungry, or cold.  She donated money to the homeless people on the streets and shelters or other care organizations throughout her life.  My mother taught me to be kind and to protect both animals and people that were not as strong or able as us.  My mother successfully raised fifteen baby possums from two different mothers; all the neighborhood children were able to hold and learn about opossums.  She had to feed them every two hours with an eye dropper.  Baby birds were also brought to my mom so that she could save them.  She would buy worms to feed them and taught me how to feed and care for them.  One of my mom's memorable rescue was a seagull with a broken wing, while we were stationed at Otis AFB in Massachusetts; we named him YoYo and the vet could not repair his broken wing, but he never gave up trying to fly and lived with us until he was turned loose at a pond in Woods Hole with people who had signed up to care and watch over him.  Stray cats and dogs would find shelter, food, and water at my mother's house always.  She tried to befriend and save every animal she saw and find them all good homes.  She fed birds, squirrels, and raccoon in her back yard every night.  My mother rescued a horse whose back bone was 2 inches high and was so malnourished he could only eat a quart of oats a day.  I remember arguing with my mom that he should have more food, but she said we had to work him back up slowly otherwise he could die; that was such a wonderful horse that had been terribly abused.

My mother loved to play games (checkers and card games), play sports (like handball and softball), and volunteer in the community.  She played go fish with my children, gin rummy and solitaire.  She taught me how to play checkers and the value of earning a win; never did she ever let me win.  I would hound her to play all the time for a chance to win against her and finally at age 15 I started winning and gave her a challenging game so she would ask me to play.  She went water skiing, yet never learned to swim.  My mother taught first-aid for my sister, Dawn, and my Girl Scout troops. She loved to read and I will forever see her in my mind with a book in her hand.  My mother loved music, there was always music playing in our house. 

There were no gender specific chores in my house, all of us were equal and expected to do all chores including mowing the lawn.  My parents shared household chores; my father did dishes, vacuuming, washing clothes, hanging clothes on clothesline, and bathing the children along with my mother.  My mother did not work outside the home during our childhood at the request of my father.  My parents allowed me to be a tomboy as much as society would allow at the time (shorts under my dresses and engaging in boy type sports, though never on teams because that was not allowed back then).   My mom loved dolls and bought them for me every Christmas, but I would never play with them.  In the summer, my mom forced my two sisters, who were bookworms, to go outside to play and made me come inside to read; misery for each of us doing the opposite of what we wanted to do, but she knew what we needed to keep us well-balanced.  When my brother (her only son) went to war, I saw her cry and when he volunteered to go for a second tour I remember my mother mad and crying again, which was something she did not do very often. Mom was proud of her two daughter's who became nurses and her son who was a Helicopter Pilot, and her youngest daughter a firefighter.

My mother enjoyed garage sales and looking for treasures.  When stationed in England, my parents had the best time junking' for antiques.  Her whole life she loved to do this and would often do it with her best-friend Mrs. Kirkman and anyone else who happened to be in a car with her when a sign could be seen prompting an impromptu stop.  She was a collector of many things and any item she saw potential value in (beanie babies, baseball cards, cabbage patch dolls, china, antiques, and such).

My father, Alexander Matau, died in 1997 when he and my brother were involved in a head on car crash.  My father had asked me to watch over mom should anything happen to him and so I did throughout the rest of her life.  My sister Dawn passed away in 2003 the same year my mother gave up her car keys.  When Dementia really started taking a hold over her life in 2003 everything changed; her home became my nightmare, nothing I could do or say could stop the downward spiral.  I would check on her before my shift and after my shift, buy groceries, clean her house, mow her yard, hire off duty firefighters for electrical, plumbing or structural help, and trimming her huge Pecan trees.  I would make sure she ordered, counted out for the month, and took her needed medication including listening twice daily via the phone for her to swallow her pills.  This all helped my mother to stay in our family home as long as possible till the end of 2009.  I cared for her in my house for a period of time until her medical needs and inability to walk necessitated her being moved to a nursing home.  Leaving your loved one at the mercy of others is probably one of the most difficult things you can do and even the 'best' of the homes we moved her to were still lacking.  I visited frequently and spent many hours with her, even though sometimes she could not remember my name and i watched her memories of our life and her life slip out of her.  My mother lived a long and full life during her 88 years on this earth and was a part of many people's and animal's life stories.

Pam and Alex--- Ira and I were saddened to learn of your loss.  Please accept our condolences here, as we are unable to attend the service.  Alex, we only met your mom once, but she seemed like a real "fire cracker"!   Ira and Shirley

Laura -- Jerry & I are sorry for your loss.  I know you must be so grateful that you have been able to spend a lot of time with your Mom, especially in these last few years.  May you and your family find comfort and peace.  Hugs to you all.

OBITUARIO

Betty Patricia Mae Matau

12 octubre, 1927 – 21 octubre, 2015

Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home & Cemetery

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