Betty Jane (Smith) Neel, 93, passed away Saturday, December 29, 2018 in Bremerton, WA.
Betty was born in Lewistown Montana, on September 26, 1925 to Ralph E. Smith and Elizabeth Weiss Smith. She attended St. Leo¹s Catholic School and graduated from Fergus County High School in 1943. She completed nurses training at St. Joseph¹s Hospital, Lewistown. She met and married A. Wayne Neel in Lewistown in 1948. The couple moved to Lansing, Michigan, where Wayne attended graduate school at Michigan State. When Wayne was hired by the Federal Land Bank, the couple returned to Bozeman for ten years before settling in Spokane in 1959. Betty and Wayne spent retirement years traveling the world and summering at their Loon Lake cabin. Wayne passed away in 2013, also at 93 years of age!
Betty is survived by three children: daughter Linda Blair (Doug), son Michael, and daughter Shelley Stenstrom (Mark). Grandchildren include: Megan Blair-Cabasco (Tony), Neel Blair (Josie Clark) and Heather Stenstrom Doran (Christian). Eight great-grandchildren were privileged to share many adventures with their great-grandparents.
A memorial service is planned at Assumption Catholic Church, Spokane, on Monday, January 14, at 11 a.m. A reception will follow in the parish hall. Betty will be interred next to Wayne at Holy Cross Cemetery.
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