Elizabeth Lottie Livingston

Elizabeth Lottie Livingston (née McCapes), a beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend passed away peacefully on May 20, 2025 at the age of 97 in Fresno, California. Born on January 1, 1928 in Reedley, California, she attended schools in Reedley and received a degree from Reedley College. Elizabeth embraced life with warmth, strength, and an unwavering dedication to her family.

She married Arthur Eugene Livingston on May 31, 1946 in Selma, California. She then lived in Eugene, Oregon; Princeton, New Jersey; and Seattle, Washington as her husband pursued a PhD degree in Mathematics. He then taught at universities in Missoula, Montana and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. After her divorce, she returned to the central valley of California and lived in Atwater, Merced, and Fresno.

Known as Liz to her colleagues and Betty to her family, she is remembered for her love of taking pictures to commemorate any gathering, whether of two people or twenty; her enthusiasm for genealogy; and her daily (repeat, daily) obsession with weather reports from all the places she had ever lived. At family events, she could be relied upon to bring either Chex Mix, rum balls, or shortbread buttons, all homemade.

Whether badgering people for their genealogy history, cutting obituaries out of any newspaper she could get her hands on, or simply listening when you needed an ear, she left an indelible mark on all who knew her.

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents Arthur L. McCapes and Livie B. Ray McCapes, her sisters Annabell Peter (Jim) and Flora Colcleasure (A.C.), her brother Arthur McCapes (Alice, Dorothy), her nephew Alan McCapes, her nieces Patricia Colcleasure Carothers, Sue Ellen (Tootie) Colcleasure Nowlin, Lurana McCapes DuBois Jacob, and her ex-husband Arthur E. Livingston.

She is survived by her children Arthur E. “Gene” Livingston (Sibylle), Kathryn, Karen Bratcher (Dave), and Sheila; her grandchildren Daniel and Lucas (Koren); and her great-grandchild Kassel, in addition to many nieces and nephews.

Her memory will live on in the hearts of those she held close. Elizabeth will be dearly missed, but never forgotten.