Betty Mae Morter

Betty Mae Morter, 90, of Ventura, California, went into the welcoming arms of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Good Friday, March 25, 2016, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She is preceded in death by her parents, Frederick and Nina Westcott; her brothers Bill, and George who was stillborn; and her husband of 59 years, Wilfred.

Betty was born in Ventura, California on October 30, 1925, and later moved with her family to the small town of Downieville, California, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, during the winter of 1931-1932. They continued to live in Downieville for the next ten years until they relocated back to Ventura in December 1941, just one week before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Betty attended Ventura High School, and afterward trained to become an Operator, working for the Pacific Bell Telephone Company. She worked alongside her mother who was a supervisor there for several years. Betty very much enjoyed handling the wide variety of calls and talking with everyone in town, but most of all she enjoyed being able to put people in touch with one another by connecting their calls on the switchboard. While working for Pac Bell she met Wilfred who was also a Pac Bell employee, at a company dance, and they were later married, June 1953, in Graeagle, California. They made their new home in Ventura, and four children soon followed. While the kids were growing up, Betty went to work for the J.C. Penney Department Store on Mills Road in Ventura, working in both the cosmetics and shoe departments for almost twenty years.

Betty said many years ago that the main desire she had in life was to be a mother, and she got her wish! She was blessed by her children, and later, grandchildren, that brought tremendous joy into her life. Her tireless and caring support of her children and grandchildren was remarkable. She helped out with the families until she reached an age where she could no longer continue. Her last help was volunteering to drive her grandkids to middle school, which she thoroughly enjoyed. She said it made her feel young again.

Betty was also a lover of dogs, and was known to take in four-legged creatures wandering the street without a home. A trademark of Betty was her love of animals in general, along with the large family of pigeons that gathered on the utility wires behind their house through the years, all fed every day by her hand! The Morter household enjoyed a myriad of pets, both winged and two and four legged, including ducks, chickens, hamsters, rabbits, pigeons, several dearly loved canines, and even snakes!

After Wilfred’s passing in 2012, Betty moved to the Monaco Ridge Assisted Living Facility in Reno, Nevada, to be near her two oldest children, their spouses, and other family members. While there, she received dedicated care from the entire staff.

Betty is survived by her younger brother, Bob; oldest son, Mike (Terry); daughter, Mindy (Raymond); sons, Mark (Michele), and Matthew (Tracy); grandchildren, Christa, Jeff, Nikki, Rachel, Evan, Stephanie; great grandchildren, Ezra, and Kayla.

Betty Mae and her children would like to especially give appreciation and thanks to our in-town relatives the Del Morter and Gordon Steward families, for whom we will be forever indebted for their friendship and closeness; and to our long time next-door neighbors on Varsity street, the Fowlers, for their friendship and camaraderie ever since Betty and Wilfred moved into their new house in October, 1955. Those memories are wonderful and the good times we shared will never be forgotten.

Graveside services will be held Wednesday, April 6, 2016, 11:00 A.M., at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park, 5400 Valentine Road, Ventura, California, 93003.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to Betty’s favorite animal care organization: Carl’s Pet Care Center in Santa Paula, California, for donations www.carldogs.org, or www.carlspetcarecenter.com.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Ted Mayr Funeral Home.