Elizabeth Ellen Drane

ELIZABETH ELLEN DRANE having lived a full life of almost 95 years, went to be with her lord and savior Jesus July 31, 2023 in the morning hours. Her final two years and place of death was Arbor Terrace at Crabapple, Alpharetta, Georgia.
Born September 25, 1928, in Rodgers Arkansas to Earl and Anna Beaty, Elizabeth, a/k/a Betty, was preceded in death by husband Gordon Drane, father Earl Beaty, mother Anna Beaty, sister Mary Vanwell, brother James Beaty, and two of her eight children, Gordon Drane and Mona Drane Vowell. Betty has one surviving brother Luther Beaty, six surviving children: Jim Clark of the Atlanta area; Greg Clark, Jeff Clark, Gary Clark, and Sharifah Clark of Western Washington; and, John Clark of the San Antonio area. Betty is also survived by numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren.
Betty, her mother, grandmother and siblings moved from Arkansas to join her father in Wenatchee, Washington when she was a young child. She attended Wenatchee area schools into high school. Elizabeth married Monty James Clark in 1947 and they had six children all in the 1950's. She worked miracles raising half-a-dozen children on a very low income and the Daily World wrote an article about her skill using coupons and shopping different stores to stretch the budget. Betty was eagerly and actively involved in the community and her children's lives including
election as PTA president and receiving a Golden Acorn Award for that service.
In 1969 the family moved to Tacoma, Washington. This new chapter in her life would test her faith. Betty's marriage ended but being the strong woman she was, She could have gone any direction she redirected her life and took charge of her story to write some of the best and happiest chapters in her lengthy tome. Betty earned a GED and at age 40, on the same day as her eldest son, began taking classes at Tacoma Community college. Betty finished her education at Pacific Lutheran university with a double bachelor's degree. In addition to pursuing a college degree Betty served with the Office of Economic Opportunity as a board member and chairperson of the Southside Community Center and later as a Greater Tacoma Area Economic Development Council board member. After college graduation Betty went to work for the State of Washington as a Social Security disability claims Adjudicator. During her college years Betty found love again. A very courageous man, Gordon Drane, having two children from a prior marriage, took on six more-wow. They married in 1972 and settled in Auburn, Washington.
Over the years she and Gordon continued to help support children and grandchildren as needed and helped raise grandchildren. They hosted an annual Christmas Eve celebration which continued until 2017 when the multiple generations of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren exceeded the capacity of her modest home. Betty and Gordon retired in the 1990s enjoying mornings together reading the newspaper and discussing current events. The freedom to travel, especially cruise, took them around the country including Alaska and Hawaii, and to international locales in Mexico, China and the Republic of Kiribati. In Gordon's final years Betty also devoted herself to his health care needs until his passing in 2011. Betty lived her entire life as a devoted Christian woman and displayed this in her selfless caring nature. She attended Northwest Family Church in Auburn regularly, and was a Sunday School teacher in her younger years. She supported The Auburn Food Bank often citing Malachi 3:10 - Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. To the end of her life you could often find Betty singing or humming her favorite gospel tune.
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