Thelma Elizabeth "Betty" DeRidder

DeRIDDER _ Thelma Elizabeth "Betty", passed away suddenly but peacefully on December 16, 2004 at the age of 85 years. Betty was born in Princeton in 1919, the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Percy O. Bird. She later moved to Bowen Island where her father ran the Union Steamship General Store and Post Office, then moved to Vancouver and attended the Dawson School, finally moving to South Slocan, near Nelson, BC. where she was to reside for 27 years. After a three-year stint in the Air Force, Betty went back to Nelson where she married her husband of 55 years, Bill, who was at the time a life-long resident of that city. Shortly after their marriage, they were transferred to Brandon, MB and Regina, SK for-six years, then returned to B.C. to take up residence in West Vancouver where she spent the rest of her life. Betty was an avid curler, an active golfer, badminton and tennis player, and she loved to swim in the ocean at Ambleside. She later took up snooker at the Senior's Centre. She loved all sports. Her hobbies were bridge, stamp collecting and writing humorous short stories and poems, mostly about her cats. For several years, she was a Sports Editor at the Lions Gate Times Weekly Newspaper, finishing off that career with her curling and golfing columns, "Over the Hog Line" and "Tee Time". Betty is survived by her four beloved cats; her husband, Bill; one son, Greg; granddaughters, Olivia Lea and Rachel; her sister, Barbara (Don) Kettyls and her daughter-in-law, Jay Todd-DeRidder. Before leaving this world, Betty asked her husband Bill to convey her thanks to all her friends for the years of friendship and the pleasant times had. She truly enjoyed her life and the people in it. A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, December 30, 2004 at 1:00pm from Hollyburn Funeral Home, 1807 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to the West Van S.P.C.A. - Betty has brass memorial plaques for all the cats she rescued from the S.P.C.A. Special thanks to Dr. C.D. Hayward and the nurses and staff at Lions Gate Hospital and to Canada Safeway 45. Hollyburn Funeral Home. (604) 922-1221.