Betsy Summers of Coupeville died peacefully with her husband and children at her side on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013, four days shy of her 62nd wedding anniversary with her kind and caring husband, F.L. (Von) Summers.

Devoted to her family, Betsy’s favorite times were in the company of her extended family, and the more at once, the merrier. She was a master story-teller and would read, with distinct character voices, classic children’s stories to three young generations: her children, her grandchildren, and, most recently, her great-grandchildren. Literature, the love of words and story-telling would be a hallmark of her life.

Betsy Lue Holmes was born on Aug. 22, 1929, in Wheaton, Ill., to parents Harold and Evelyn Holmes. She was the youngest of three daughters. Raised in a home full of books, Betsy would graduate from Colorado College in 1951 with a degree in English literature with plans to become a teacher.

Those plans were put on hold when she visited the home of her aunt and uncle in Portland during spring break of her senior year. There she met a young lieutenant in the Air Force and (in what is described by her children as a whirlwind romance) fell in love with her future husband Von after one short week.

As their romance developed through letters, plans for Betsy to join Von (who was stationed in England) concluded when she traveled by ship to London the next fall to be married in December of 1951.

After their first son Ross was born in England, they decided to move back to the states to raise a family. Settling in California long enough to have their first daughter Joel, they returned to Portland and had two more children, Von and Robyn.

While her husband attended to work, Betsy attended to raising the children with great distinction. She was a kind, caring and loving mother who ruled the roost with a calm but firm demeanor.

Sensing that TV had an unwanted influence in her children’s development, she chose not to repair the family TV when a tube burnt out and decided that nightly stories read to all four children would be the backbone of family entertainment. As the children grew, she would have them select their favorite books for her to read. She instilled a love of theater, music and literature in all of her children.

With her children in college, Betsy decided to pursue her love of story telling by earning a master’s degree in values from the San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1985. Her thesis was “The Use of Stories and Story Telling in the Pediatric Hospital Setting.” She put that experience to work by telling stories to young patients at Portland’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and the Shriners Hospital for Children.

With their children settled with families of their own, Betsy and Von decided to move to Whidbey Island for their retirement, making their new home a gathering place for family and friends. She also made the island her home. A woman of strong faith, she became an active member of the Whidbey Presbyterian Church, became a counselor with the Stephen Ministries and served as the President of the Whidbey Island General Hospital Foundation.

Betsy will be deeply missed by those she loved.

She is survived by her husband Francis Lavon (Von); her children Ross (Colleen) Summers, Joel (Greg) Rasmussen, Von (Barbara) Summers and Robyn (Geoff) Biglow; 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial service to celebrate Betsy’s life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at the Whidbey Presbyterian Church in Oak Harbor.

Remembrances to Whidbey Island General Hospital Foundation at P.O. Box 641, Coupeville, WA 98239, or the Whidbey Presbyterian Church in Oak Harbor.

Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Wallin Funeral Home. Friends and family are encouraged to share memories and offer condolences on their website at www.wallinfuneralhome.com