Connie Betz, 82, passed away in Oak Harbor after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was born in Marysville, Ohio, to Robert and Florence Miller. She grew up mostly in Ohio but also spent a year in Alabama and in Tampa, Fla.

After graduating High School in Xenia, Ohio, she went to nursing school in Dayton, Ohio. She graduated nursing school in 1954. Her first nursing job was in Tampa, where she met and married Barton Betz, an Air Force jet mechanic, in 1955.

Their oldest son, Frank, was born in 1956 in Tampa. She next moved to Kansas where her daughter, Diana, was born in 1958. Her son, Jon, was born in 1960. Living in Ottawa, Kan., she worked as a nurse and went to college to get her bachelor’s degree. She got her master’s degree at the University of Kansas. This led to her role in hospital administration and teaching at the K.U. Medical Center.

Retirement was her next adventure in Salida, Colo. She and her husband built a cabin on 40 acres that was at an elevation of 9,000 feet, high in the mountains. She loved her garden, greenhouse and learning to quilt.

Due to Barton’s health, they had to leave the mountains, moving to Deming, N.M., in the year 2000. Upon Bart’s death in 2010, she moved to Oak Harbor, where she lived with her daughter. She was cared for and loved by many caregivers.

Connie is survived by her three children: Frank, Diana and Jon. There are eight grandchildren: Joshua, Philip, Sarah, Heather, David, Stephen, Eric and Karissa. There are seven great-grandchildren Tanzi, Jada, Tyshawn, Jaxon, Tobias, Jasmine and Jozsa.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at Wallin Funeral Home with a reception to follow.

Betz