Betty Stanford

1923 - 2016

Betty Stanford
Dec. 6, 1923 - March 13, 2016
Walnut Creek
Betty Bond Stanford, 92, of Walnut Creek, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 13th, loved ones at her side.
Born Betty Blanche Bond in Sacramento on December 6, 1923, she was the daughter of Mabel and Embert Bond, a schoolteacher and a Pacific Telephone foreman.
Pursuing dance from an early age -– tap and ballet, later jazz and modern -- she graduated from C.K. McClatchy High School in 1941.
She studied botany at Sacramento City Junior College for two years, and there met Robert Warren. They were married in July 1943, but he died soon after in a flight school accident.
At UC Berkeley Betty studied social welfare and dance, then returned to Sacramento and performed with the Civic Ballet while working at the State printing plant.
At a folk dance group she met John Howard Stanford, a young analyst for the State. They married on May 30, 1947 and lived in Sacramento for 21 years, raising three children and enjoying trips to the foothills and coast, and camping at the Shasta County homestead Betty's grandfather, a goat rancher, claimed in the 1890s.
When her children were teenagers Betty launched a career as a social worker, working first in Sacramento and then in Oakland. In 1967 the family moved to Berkeley, where Betty and John lived for 45 years. She loved gardening, sewing, animals (particularly the squirrels near Spruce and Marin). Betty and John's shared passion for movies, books, theater, museums, art, architecture, and travel were a constant. For years they were active in the First Congregational Church of Berkeley.
Betty was the heart of her family and was dearly loved. The great joy she and John took in one another was clearly undiminished through 67 years of marriage.
Betty's irrepressible optimism and ever-bright loving spirit were an inspiration to all who knew her. During her final year her mantra was a bemused marveling: "I never dreamed I'd live to be 92. I've had a wonderful life!"
Betty was predeceased by her husband John, her parents, her siblings Florence, Jack, and Embert and their spouses. She is survived by her three children -- Barbara Boyan, David Stanford, Susan McVey -- and their spouses, by six grandchildren and two grandspouses, and by her nieces and nephews, their families, and numerous cousins and in-laws.
The family thanks the Bethel Care Homes for their excellent and loving care of her.
All who knew Betty are invited to attend a memorial celebration at Hull's Walnut Creek Chapel, 1139 Saranap Avenue, Walnut Creek, on Saturday, April 23rd, at 2:00 pm, followed by a reception. It was Betty's request that donations go to The Tremble Clefs (c/o Parkinson's Network of Mt. Diablo, P.O. Box 3127, Walnut Creek, CA 94598).


View the online memorial for Betty Stanford