Sylvia Ann Betts

Sylvia Ann Betts, born on Jan. 4, 1942, in Higginsville, Missouri, peacefully passed away on September 19.

She was the youngest of four children, born to Joseph and Eleanor Piontek. Sylvia’s childhood included many an adventure in Higginsville, where she grew up on a farm and developed a strong work ethic and a sense of the importance in family bonds.

As a teenager, destiny smiled upon Sylvia when she crossed paths with the love of her life — a recently enlisted U.S. Coast Guardsman visiting his father at her workplace. This fateful encounter set the stage for their lives together that would include 57 years of marriage, five children, 12 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren and immeasurable quantities of card games, lawn games, laughter and fond memories of family gatherings shared.

As the matriarch of a Coast Guard family, her adventures and expanding family included time in Argentia, Newfoundland, Salem, Massachusetts, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, St. Petersburg, Florida, and Astoria, where Sylvia worked as a hospital admissions/billing office manager at Columbia Memorial Hospital. Both Sylvia and Ed retired in Astoria to establish roots in their longest-standing hometown.

As an active member of St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church and School, Sylvia was a lay minister and was heavily involved in the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, where she dedicated time to charity events and planned hosting activities for their national member conference.

Throughout her work in her church community and her involvement in her kids’ sports, hobbies and scouting activities, she established herself as someone who was as quick to lend a hand as she was to share a laugh.

Sylvia will forever be remembered for her unwavering love for family, her commitment to friends, and her knack for halting a card game mid-play because she wanted to make sure everyone was stocked up on snacks.

Sylvia was preceded in death by her loving husband, Edward; her father, Joseph; her mother, Eleanor; her brothers, Joseph and Alfred; and granddaughter, Erin Betts.

She is survived by her children, Ed (Julie) Betts, Randy (Janet) Betts, Denise (Mark) Gagnon, Joseph Betts and Mike (Melissa) Betts.

A rosary will be said at 10:30 a.m. on Monday at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church, followed by a Mass at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Catholic Daughters Scholarships or the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.