It is with sadness that we announce the death of our beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Betty de Bruyn, on February 4, 2015. Betty died at home, with her husband and two of her daughters at her side.
Frances Elizabeth (Betty) Roy was born on July 23, 1920 in Dauphin, Manitoba. Her family moved to Winnipeg when Betty was a teenager. She went to Ottawa to work early in WWII, and it was there that she met her husband, Jan de Bruyn. They were married on May 3, 1941. They moved to Vancouver where Jan enlisted. Betty lived there while Jan was overseas, and they lived in that city until Jan retired from UBC in 1983.They moved to the home that Betty had designed and they had built near Sechelt, and lived there until 1995, when they moved to the Kootenays.
Betty lived a long and full life. She was home to raise her children, which she did with much love and common sense. She was a talented cook, seamstress, embroiderer, needle worker, typist and quilter. She passed on knowledge of all sorts – family history, cooking secrets, how to deal cards, how to sew and crochet… She was a loving, compassionate woman, and we will all miss her.
Betty is survived by her husband of seventy-three and a half years, Jan de Bruyn, her children Sydney Mason, Diane Andersson, John de Bruyn, Mary de Bruyn (Stephen), and Kathy de Bruyn (Angel), 13grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren, her sister Mary Jean Roy, and her two brothers, Frank and Pat Roy, as well as several nieces and nephews and their families.
She was predeceased by her son Frank in July, 1961, sons-in-law Bruce Mason (2011) and Rolf Andersson (2010), daughter-in-law Sally de Bruyn (2014), and three of her brothers: Doug Roy (2013), Bunny Roy (2001), and Donald Roy (2000).
Cremation, in care of Castlegar Funeral Chapel, has taken place.
A family gathering was held on Saturday, Feb. 7 to remember her. We will be having a Celebration of Life for family and friends later in the spring, when travelling to the Kootenays is a bit easier.
If you would like to pay tribute to Betty, a donation in her name to your favourite charity would be wonderful.