Betty Emeline Pritel

January 11, 1919—August 2, 2011

Betty Emeline (DeMerice) Leeson Pritel died at home after a brief illness at age 92 on August 2. Born in Havre, MT to Robert Bruce and Laura (King) DeMerice, her family soon moved to the Spokane, WA area (Clayton and Deer Park) where she lived on a dairy farm with her two younger sisters and a brother until she began a nursing degree at Walla Walla College. She married LeRoy Leeson in 1944 who had three grown sons from a previous marriage. They adopted a son, Thomas Joseph Leeson, in 1950. She went on to complete her RN degree at University of Oregon’s School of Nursing in 1959 while working nights at Vancouver Memorial Hospital.

She had numerous passions first of which was her family and friends. Her warm, engaging and caring spirit quickly turned strangers and coworkers into friends. Over the 33 years she worked at Vancouver Memorial Hospital (eventually SW Washington hospital) she held numerous positions of leadership concluding as Director of In-Service Education. She loved her job. She also loved the out-of-doors and began outdoor adventures by accompanying her preteen son steelhead fishing in the rain-swollen rivers of the Northwest, even though she couldn’t swim and was terrified of water. At age 50, she accompanied her son, daughter-in-law and niece on an 80-mile backpack trip traversing Olympic National Park from northeast alpine meadows to the southwest rainforest. Wildflowers were another of her passions. On mountain hikes she could identify all the western wildflowers by their scientific names, and collected seedpods to add to the wildflowers blooming annually in her gardens at home. She also loved her church, leading out and serving in many capacities during her 61 years as a member of the Vancouver Seventh-day Adventist Church.

After the death of her husband in 1984 she married Dr. Philip Pritel in 1987, a retired Vancouver surgeon, and the two spent a year performing medical mission work in Thailand before resettling in Vancouver, WA.

Betty was preceded in death by her husbands, her sisters Blanche DeMerice and Roberta Peterson, brother Robert Bruce DeMerice, and stepson Duane Leeson. She is survived by her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, Tom, Pat (Clendenon) and Laura Leeson of Vancouver, WA, stepsons Ira LeRoy Leeson of Bend, OR and John Leeson of Hoquim, WA, sister-in-laws Emma (Pritel) Coffin of Calhoun, GA and Alice (Pritel) Livadney of Harrah, OK, nieces Sheri Peterson of Portland, and Marilyn Elliot of Harrisburg, PA, nephews David Peterson, Bruce DeMerice and Michael DeMerice, six step grandchildren and numerous grandnephews, grandnieces, and great grandchildren.

Arrangements under the direction of Vancouver Funeral Chapel, Vancouver, WA.