Miriam Barnett
I loved Betty so much and never realized her birthday was my wedding anniversary! I have so many memories of the years I have known her. She was such a blessing to me and so supportive of me personally and our YWCA (where I am the CEO). She loved the word "hope" as do I and she loved children. We talked about family, Desmond Tutu ( we went to hear him together when he came to Tacoma), the Seahawks, you name it, we talked about it. We went to lunch together and she would always order everything she wanted and then eat like a little bird. She would take the leftovers home though so I always hoped she would eat more later.
Betty had a heart of GOLD. Pure gold. She was the most loving and accepting person I ever met. A very personal story: about 3.5 years ago, my youngest child at age 25 decided to transition from male to female. This is not something I saw coming and I was struggling. When I told Betty she went right to a place of love. "We love our children no matter what." and she is so right. I know she was also very religious so her openness actually surprised me and made me feel at ease. She helped me through that hard time and I will remember that always.
I am so sad but I will always hold her memory close and every time I think of her, I will smile because that is precisely what she would want me to do. Betty, I love you!