Evelyne Hill Betti passed away at her home Oct. 24, 2007, ending a courageous battle with cancer.
The daughter of John and Ruth Briggs Hill, Evelyne was born on July 24, 1919, in Miles City, Mont. Evelyne was raised on a sheep ranch near Winnett, Mont. She attended elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse built of cottonwood logs located on the banks of Lodge Pole Creek. It was just a short horseback ride from the family homestead, commonly referred to by her as the "Old Ranch." She fondly told stories of riding Old Darky, her saddle horse, to school and the many exciting experiences of being the only girl in a house with five brothers. She graduated from Winnett High School in 1936 and, in later years, never missed a single all-class reunion. She never forgot about her roots and a small community's challenges of raising funds for education and technology. She gave generously when she knew of the need for things that would help the community.
In 1936, Evelyne and her mother Ruth left Montana to seek a life in Seattle, where Evelyne attended barber college and became an accomplished hairdresser. Being a hairdresser paid for two years at the University of Washington, where she studied clothing design and home economics. On May 17, 1941, in Seattle, Evelyne married Bruno Dante Betti. Shortly after marriage, they moved to Richland, Wash. After several years, they returned to the Seattle area and were early pioneers of Hawks Prairie, where they purchased a 440-acre Christmas tree farm in 1949. Evelyne used her design talents to design buildings, the first being a slaughterhouse for their pig-raising operation. Beginning in 1972, they began building warehouses for new businesses. Because someone had helped Bruno and her get started in business, she always tried to give something back to the business community by offering attractive rents to her tenants. She helped in the success of a number of businesses. When Bruno passed away in 1998, Evelyne continued to expand the warehouse complex into the Hill-Betti Business Park. She established Hawks Prairie as a great place to have a business. Throughout her life, Evelyne had a running battle with bureaucracy and environmentalists. Her first battle took her 17 years to rezone a portion of her property. "I love fighting with the government," she used to say with a grin and a gleam in her eye. She was always tuned in to city, state and national politics, and made an unsuccessful bid for the state legislature in the early '70s. She was a strong adversary when she believed in a cause and had a generous spirit when she felt the cause was worthy.
Evelyne's deep sense of community kept her involved in the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, square dancing and Council meetings.
Evelyne's philanthropic interests were many and varied. Her generosity extended to the vocational and technical students at South Puget Sound Community College. When she heard of their need to purchase their own professional tools, she gave generously to the Automotive Technology Program and claimed that one of her favorite events was attending Tool Day. The community college dedicated "Evelyne's Tool Room." She extended her support to Saint Martin's University for scholarship programs in "practical degrees" in engineering, business, science and teaching. South Stand Partners for Philanthropy named her Individual of the Year at the 2006 Leadership in Philanthropy Awards. She was a major donor to Lacey's military statue at the corner of Marvin Road and Quinault Drive.
Evelyne was preceded in death by her parents; Bruno, her husband of 57 years; her sister, Anna Hill; and five brothers and their spouses, Johnny (Hellan), George (Lela), Lou (Margaret), Fred (Grace), Floyd Hill; and nephews Alvin, Lynn and Teddy Hill. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Viola Hill. Nieces and nephews surviving are: Pohney Rich, Jack Hill, Betty Stell, Phil Hill, Louanne Woodford, Karen Dobson, Jim Hill, Joan Murphy, Virginia Mart, Sharon Wilson, Stan Hill and Bruce Hill.
Evelyne's favorite saying was "It isn't easy being me. Sometimes I even have trouble doing it." We learned many things from Evelyne in these last months. She taught us the importance of having dreams and to always have hope. She demonstrated a courageous and indomitable spirit to never give up. She valued her friends and loved those close to her. Always the businessperson, she designed her business park to the end. We will miss you. You truly were "one of a kind." It was our privilege to walk this journey with you. We will miss you. You brought true meaning to "I did it my way!"
The family of Evelyne Hill Betti would like to give special thanks to her special caregivers, Jane Casino and Sky Douglas and her extended family, Tom Reinhardt and the Javier Lopes family. Your friendship, support and kindness will never be forgotten. May God share his many blessings with you for your love, friendship, mercy and compassion.
Memorials may be made to Petroleum County Library, Winnett, MT 59087; Boys and Girls Club Lacey Branch, 3003 Sunset Way S.E., Tumwater, WA 98501; St. Martin's University, 5300 Pacific Ave. S.E., Lacey, WA 98503; and South Puget Sound Community College, 1401 Martin Way N.E., #201, Lacey, WA 98516.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m., at Woodlawn Funeral Home, Lacey. Entombment will follow in Woodlawn Cemetery. To leave a message, go to www.woodlawnfh.net.
This obituary was originally published in the Billings Gazette.
