Betty Jean Bolieu

Betty Jean Bolieu, 89, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on September 25, 2014. She was born on March 5, 1925 in Orrville, Ohio to Charles and Emma Null, the youngest of three children. She married James Owen Bolieu on October 10, 1954, and was predeceased by him in January of 2002. Together they lived in various military bases around the country while James served in the United States Air Force. Five children were born to them during their marriage: Thomas, Sharon, Elaine, John and Emily. The family moved to Thurston County in 1969, following James’ discharge from the Air Force. Betty was a stay-at-home mom for a number of years, and subsequently worked at St. Peter Hospital in Olympia as a Data Clerk in the Medical Records Department, from which she retired in 1988. They had 11 grandchildren born to them: Justin, Scott, Ashley, Amber, Jordan, Ricky, Chad, David, Brandon, Heather and Lisa. Betty graduated from Orrville High School in 1943. Her graduating class had 63 people, and Betty maintained friendships with a number of them for her lifetime. She enjoyed corresponding with friends from Ohio and friends she met in her travels for many years. She had a very close relationship with her brother Laird and her sister Nelda until their deaths. Her nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and – nephews were also very important to her. Betty travelled to Ohio every couple of years to visit family until air travel became difficult for her. Her sister Nelda was also included in many trips Betty made with her husband. Betty was always a social butterfly and enjoyed people. She enjoyed playing games for hours, including cards, dominoes & board games; she was always a competitive player! She enjoyed going to movies, plays, symphonies and the athletic competitions of her grandchildren. She and her husband worked at the Western Washington Fair after they retired, and Betty enjoyed attending concerts at the fair, too. Betty & James had a membership with Thousand Trails, and spent many happy years camping in different parts of the country. They camped for many summer vacations when their children were young, and continued to do so in retirement. She and her husband made many friends when they travelled in their motor home. They also made some wonderful memories camping with their grandchildren. Betty was a longtime member of the Mountain View Church of the Nazarene in Tumwater. She especially enjoyed the Prime Time group for seniors. She and her husband attended Bible studies and other activities with them for many years. Betty even traveled to Peru with a Work & Witness team from the church; she helped to prepare meals while the team worked on a construction project. She also belonged to the Sunshine Gals, a support group for widows from the church, and she especially enjoyed attending musical events at the church. Betty’s greatest joy in life was her family. She enjoyed cooking meals for family gatherings and for holidays. She never forgot a birthday, and was always too generous at Christmas. Her death from malignant melanoma took her too soon, but she was blessed to be surrounded by all her children when she died. She will be greatly missed by all who loved her, but she is at peace in Heaven surrounded by her husband, her parents, her siblings and her Heavenly Father.