Stella Betrozoff Barkhurst

Stella Betrozoff Barkhurst

Raymond, WA - Stella Betrozoff Barkhurst, a resident of Reno from 1988 to 2010, passed away in her home town of Raymond, Washington on June 26, 2019 of natural causes at age 95.

She had been in a hospice center for two weeks due to health problems caused by a recent fall. Stella graduated from Raymond High School in 1942 and worked nearby in Aberdeen, Washington making military airplane parts. In 1944 she joined the Navy women's corp called the WAVES, took advanced training in Oklahoma and was stationed in San Francisco, California as part of the Navy department that kept track of the many oil tankers sailing to different ports for the WWII war effort. She left the WAVES in 1946 at the end of her enlistment even though her superiors wanted her to stay in the Navy and continue doing what they considered an excellent job. She preferred to stay in San Francisco rather than be reassigned to the East Coast.

Stella married Virgil "Whitey" Barkhurst, an Iowa vet, in 1946. Her first San Francisco house was veteran's housing on Army Street. She also lived in San Bruno, Costa Mesa and Long Beach. During this time she was joined by two brothers and two sisters. They became the "California Betrozoff Family" that remained close and did many activities together. One activity was a traditional Labor Day weekend in Reno enjoying the weather and casinos.

Stella moved to Reno after spending 2.5 years in Forest Hill, California tending to the estate of brother Michael Betrozoff who died during a heart valve operation. She enjoyed hosting relatives and friends during her Reno years. She moved back to her home town of Raymond in 2010 where she lived until her death. She was the first child of eleven children of Alex and Katie Betrozoff. She is survived by three of the eleven children.

Cremation services were handled by Stoller's Mortuary in Raymond. In lieu of flowers or cards, Stella requested that donations be made to the Betrozoff Family Scholarship, Raymond Schools Foundation, P.O. Box 234, Raymond WA 98577.