Betty M Schwartz

Heaven gained a wonderful, beautiful, talented angel on March 22, 2018 at 6:55 pm, as Betty Margaret Schwartz, our Mom, (Gooma and Great Gooma), took her final breath in the embrace of loving family. Betty was born in Portland, Oregon. Her father was William Clarence Melvin and mother Capitola Thelma Meriwether. She was the tenth generation descendent of Nicholas Meriwether who came from Wales, United Kingdom to the United States of America in 1649. Betty attended Woodstock and Fernwood Grammar School in Portland Oregon before graduating from U.S. Grant High School in 1939. She was an active member of the Glee Club and Thespian Club there. After high school, Betty attended Northwestern School of Commerce and was employed as a bookkeeper for the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co, the Multnomah County School District and the First National Bank of Portland. Betty served in the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve, also known as SPARS. She trained in Palm Beach Florida before serving as a Paymaster for the USCG Third Naval District on Wall Street, New York. Betty fell in love and married her first husband, J. Martin Brooks, in New York. They began raising a family and had two sons (Greg and Peter) in New York and later moved to Millbrae, California where they were blessed with another son (John) and a daughter (Meriwether). In 1957, Betty was lucky enough to fall head over heels in love a second time and married Frank E. Schwartz. Betty and Frank lived, loved, traveled and played together for 50 years until Frank's death in 2007. They moved from Millbrae to Lancaster California where they had two daughters. (Jo-Hanna and Heidi) While in Lancaster, Betty served as a "Pink Lady" volunteer at the Lancaster Hospital, and as treasurer for the Lancaster Chapter of the California American Medical Association (AMA). She was a member and contralto soloist for the Contempo Chorale (a semi professional choral group in Los Angeles) and the United Methodist Church choir. She taught herself to play a Schober Organ, built by her husband Frank, and later served as a full time pipe-organist for the Methodist church. Betty did all of this while raising her six children. After the kids were grown, Betty began painting in oils. She first showed and sold paintings in California at Laguna Beach, Sherman Oaks, and Lancaster galleries. In 1977 Betty and Frank moved to Newport Oregon. She continued singing and playing the organ at the Presbyterian Church and showed paintings at Oceanic Arts, Wood Gallery, Rickerts Gallery on the Newport Historic Bayfront as well as the Gallery at Salishan in Lincoln City. Betty had endless creative skills. Besides her talents with painting, piano/organ playing and singing, she was also a landscape designer, an amateur mycologist and horticulturist, (She could identify pretty much any plant and/or mushroom) a wonderful seamstress who sewed much of her own clothing, (as well as the matching outfits for her kids growing up), an excellent cook (I would say at the chef level) and could write poetry and rhymes to suit any occasion. Husbands J. Martin Brooks and Frank E. Schwartz preceded Betty in death. She is survived by three sons, Greg Brooks, John Brooks, Peter (and Lizz) Brooks, and three daughters, Meriwether (Brooks) Masters, Jo-Hanna (Schwartz) Wienert, and Heidi (Schwartz) (and Phil) Oaks. She is also survived by nine grand children, Erin (Brooks) Keller, Tayler and Pierson Brooks, Jennifer (Masters)(and Michael) Longo, Rob (and Amanda), Ryley and Rogan Wienert, Samantha and Anthony Walton, and three great grand children , Evan (Brooks) Romero, Charlotte Marie and Ava Jo Wienert. Services will be held May 5, 2018 at 3:00pm at the First Presbyterian Church in Newport. A reception will follow.

Tributes

Betty M Schwartz

June 9, 1921 - March 22, 2018