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BORN
02/28/1944
DIED
04/02/2011
Betty Oka Obituary
My wife, Betty, is a lifelong, Born Again, Holy Spirit-filled Christian who, during her 67 year journey on Earth, gratefully served the Lord Jesus Christ with all her heart.
Born February 28, 1944, 11:45 pm, to Glen and Iola Goodnight in Vancouver, WA, Betty was the youngest of Glen and Iola's four children. After attending Bothell High School and Shoreline Community College she worked as an inhalation therapist in the Seattle area for several years. Then, on an April 26th night in 1969, she met the love of her life, Me! She was magic, one smile and I was hers forever. We wed on Christmas, 1971 in Spokane, WA and began raising a wonderful family. We were blessed: five boys, a great church, lots of friends and family. She led a fruitful, happy life. The latter years of her working career saw her serving members of the elderly community as a very proficient and highly valued caregiver.
Passionate about all her many interests, Betty enjoyed reading the Bible, loving her family and friends, nutrition and cooking, gardening, cooking, taking long walks in the Spokane Valley, nutrition, decorating award winning cakes, nutrition and cooking, and performing as "Enobia" in "Troupe Hayat", a Middle Eastern Dance group. Also cooking and nutrition. Carob not chocolate.
Betty is preceded in death by her parents, sister Myrna, and son Jay. She is survived by her stepmother Miriam Goodnight; mother-in-law Nobie Oka; siblings Roy (Rita) Goodnight, Ellen Durlack, David (Shelley) Goodnight, Glenda (Grant) Campos, John (Lisa) Goodnight; brother-in-law Gwain (Darcy) Oka; and sister-in-law Lynn (Tom) Dwyer. She is also survived by husband Gareth; sons Jeff (Elisia), Jonathan (Marisa), Joseph, Jesse; and grandchildren Luryn, Trevor, Ayana, Hayden, and Brin.
A memorial service and reception to celebrate a life well-lived will be held Friday April 22, 2011, 3:00 pm at the Good Samaritan Community Center, 17028 E. 8th, Spokane Valley (from Sprague, go South on Tschirley).
After a two year experience with kidney and lung cancer, she passed away peacefully at her home in Spokane, WA on April 2, 2011, 11:45 pm.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Betty Oka
2 Entries
April 21, 2011
We would like to express our deepest sympathies to the entire Oka Family. Russ has good memories of you from his days as a subscription manager for the Spokesman-Review and Eileen has memories of your family at Highland Park United Methodist church with her children Scott and Kim Garcia. We are currently on our way back to Spokane from Europe and will not be able to attend the memorial service but wanted you all to know that we were thinking of you at this time.
Russ and Eileen Ewan
Stacey Farrell-Jensen
April 10, 2011
To the Oka Family, I would like to offer my prayers and love as you celebrate Betty's life. May God keep you close in His arms and filled with all the love Betty so freely gave.
I have such great memories of her while we all attened the Valley 4 Square Church. She was one of those people, and had one of those families, you just never forget and smile while remembering.
Love and Blessings, Stacey Farrell Jensen (Ken & Jan Farrell's daughter)
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