Mrs. Elizabeth “Betty” Packard passed away peacefully at the age of 87 in Bellevue, Washington. She was preceded in death by her husband John C. Packard, Jr.; her mother Elizabeth Vincentelli Diehl of Montgomery, Alabama; her father Joseph Alan Reynolds of Montgomery, Alabama and her half brother Alan Reynolds of Montgomery, Alabama.
Betty is survived by her children Sam Packard of Bellevue, Washington and Stuart Packard of Bakersfield, California.
She was a wonderful grandmother to her four grandchildren Noah John Packard of Bellevue, Washington, Benjamin Henry Packard of Bellevue, Washington, Tyler Jeffrey Packard of Bakersfield, California, and Amy Irina Packard of Bakersfield, California.
Betty was born in Montgomery on April 16, 1922 and raised there, graduating from Lanier High School. In 1940 she attended Stephens College in Columbia Missouri.
In 1941 she returned to Montgomery in order to work at the USO at Maxwell Air Force base, where she met her husband John. They were married on January 16, 1946 and moved to Washington DC where John attended George Washington University.
Later they moved to Pasadena, California where John attended and received degrees from USC and UCLA.
Their first son Samuel was born in 1951. In 1960, their second son, Stuart, was born.
Betty and her family moved to Fullerton, California in 1964 where she raised her children and worked at Great Western Savings for 14 years.
She was devoted to her husband until his death in 1990. In the 1980’s she and John were fortunate to have the opportunity to travel often with friends and family. In the 1990’s she was able to reconnect with Montgomery childhood friend Josephine Griffin and they were able to vacation together regularly for several years. She continued into the late 90’s to commute by bus into downtown Los Angeles to her job with J. Alexander Securities where she had worked with John for many years.
Declining health forced her to gradually retire around 2003 to 2004. Her son Stuart and daughter-in-law Janay were present for her as much as possible during this time but lived two hours away in Bakersfield.
In 2005, Betty left Southern California where she had lived for more than 50 years to be near her son Sam's family. She moved to Sunrise of Bellevue Assisted Living just a few blocks away from Sam and grandsons Noah and Ben.
For over four years in Bellevue, she had an active life and was able to attend family gatherings in Bellevue with Sam, Noah and Ben as well as with the Nierman family, Noah’s and Ben’s aunt, uncle and cousins.
She was able to attend her grandchildren’s sporting events and take outings with the many friends she made at Sunrise. For Sam, Noah and Ben, these were wonderful and memorable years which will always be cherished. Highlights of this time were visits by Stuart, Janay, Tyler and Amy, as well as by cousins Vicki Sparks, husband Clay, and Kimberly Sparks, and in her last months J.R. Patee.
In 2009, after several falls, her health declined further. Her last six months were spent at Overlake Hospital and at Mission Health Care. In her last three days she was visited by Sam, Noah and Ben. She passed away early in the morning, Sunday, February 28th, 2010. We celebrate her life and she will always be in our thoughts.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation to a charity of your choice.
