Betty Jane McBain, 87, passed away Jan. 30, 2013 in Snohomish Wash.

Born in LaCrosse, Wis., to Ruth and Harold Holmes in 1925, Betty was the youngest of four daughters. Her father was a pharmacist, her mother a teacher, and after the family moved to San Jose, she met Frank E. McBain.

She was only 17 when they married yet they reached their 70th anniversary last November.

Betty had four sons, and tragically lost second son Byron to kidney disease when he was four years old. She was Frank’s business partner in all endeavors including equipment rentals in San Jose Calif., cattle ranching and mobile home parks in Klamath County.

Betty loved square dancing, hiking, engineering a throw-away-item into something useful and her home contains many of those accessories.

After building their dream home together on Lopez Island, Wash., Betty enjoyed the birds and deer, spectacular views of Fisherman Bay, and boating through the waterways of the northwestern U.S. and Canada.

She was a fiercely supportive mother and good neighbor to have. Betty leaves behind her devoted caregiver and husband Frank, sons and daughters in-law Jim (Judy), Dale (Gloria), Quintin (Paula), grandchildren Lesley and Corey (Tiffany), sister Ruth, and numerous friends from Lopez, Klamath, and Watsonville.

A Memorial Celebration is planned Feb. 16 on Lopez Island at Woodman Hall at 1 p.m.