Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Gaudin, née Crosby, died on February 28th, 2019 in her home in Shelby Twp. Michigan. She was 81 years old. Born May 1, 1937, she was the eighth child of ten raised amongst red dirt roads, cold streams and fields of green by Mary (née Smith) and Everett Crosby at the Crosby Mills in Bonshaw, Prince Edward Island, Canada. During the Christmas holidays of 1954, when she was 17, she hitched a ride off the island to Toronto with an older sibling. In Toronto, she got a job as a secretary at Confederation Life Insurance Company and fell in love with fellow islander, Kenneth Gaudin. On May 25, 1957, Betty and Ken were married. Nearly fifty years after that day, she had this to say about marriage: “If you can look at a person after 50 years and still really like and respect them, consider yourself lucky. Ken’s that person.” Eventually, Ken and Betty and their growing family moved to Michigan. Ahead of her time, Betty, a mother of four herself, recognized the dire need for quality childcare to help working mothers, and decided to be part of the solution. For over 50 years, she opened her home to children and families, offering a nurturing and safe environment for children. In her thirties and forties, Betty and her family enjoyed boating, waterskiing and rustic cabin vacations. Their home frequently vibrated with the sound of sing-a-longs, noisy lobster suppers, fondue feasts and lively game nights. An avid gardener, Betty grew her own vegetables, and her pantry was always stocked with homemade rhubarb and relish, jellies and jams. Another favorite time for Betty was Christmas, when she and Ken would continue the family traditions such as making their famous tourtiere, a French Canadian meat pie. Betty believed in the old-fashioned art of letter writing, and could often be found at the kitchen table detailing the weekly news to faraway family. She had a quick wit, a tendency to throw her head back when she laughed, and liked to tell long, detailed stories. During board games, which she played almost nightly with Ken and whomever happened to drop by, she was a fierce competitor right up to her last days. For over 50 years, she was a congregant at the First Baptist Church of Rochester, where she favored the older hymns she’d sung as a girl, and shared the same second row seat with Ken every Sunday. Betty is lovingly remembered by her husband Ken of almost 62 years, four daughters Susan (Mike), Linda (Jeff), Tammy (Dan) and Kimberly (Ricardo), and also grandchildren John, Valerie, Benjamin, Rachel, Alec (Paige), Camila and Oliver and great grandchildren Emmitt and Audrina, wonderful sisters Marie, Judy and Shirley, sister-in-law’s Eva, Evelyn, Joyce, Edith, Hazel and brother-in-law Al, plus many nieces and nephews and close friends and neighbors. She is predeceased by her mother Mary, father Everett, brothers Andrew, Jamie, Heath, Ernie and Gordon and sister Isabel, mother-in-law Sybil and father-in-law Wilfred, brother-in-law’s Clarence, John, Mac, Colin, Fulton and sister-in-law’s Noreen and Dorothy and Dorothy.
Visitation will be held Tuesday, March 5 at 10:30 a.m. a Pixley Funeral Home, 322 W. University Dr., Rochester, Michigan, with a funeral service for Betty to immediately follow at 11 a.m. A luncheon will be held at the First Baptist Church of Rochester, 6377 Orion Rd., in Rochester Hills immediately after the service.
