Individual Details

Death

Betty Dorene Gunderson went home to be with Jesus on January 16th at age 96. She lived an amazing long life and blessed so many lives she touched.
Betty was born to Martin & Emilie Brown on June 2, 1927 in Covelo, California. She was the third of four children. She skipped a grade between second and third. Her aunts and uncles were her Sunday school teachers, and her dad Martin started a church in their home.
On May 27, 1937 she walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, celebrating their opening with her marching band from Covelo. She was almost ten years old.
Her family moved from Covelo to Redding, CA so her dad Martin could help build the Shasta Dam.
Betty met Kenneth (Kenny) Olander Gunderson in 1943, when her mom Emilie and her worked at a little Donut shop that sold hamburgers near the Shasta dam when she was sixteen. She got so nervous when Kenny came in that she always mistakenly put mustard on his burger. He did not like mustard but ate it happily because he was enamored with Betty.
Betty & Kenny were married December 22, 1944 right after the Christmas program at their church before they passed out the Christmas candy and oranges. They went on to have three children, Wayne, Pam & Jan.
She was PTA president when her three children were in elementary school. Betty and Kenny lived in Petaluma for 46 years and for 36 of those years she was secretary for the church First Assembly of God. Betty also worked for Neilson Freight Lines in Petaluma as a computer operator doing all the books for them.
Betty had a special gift of hospitality so every time there was a baby shower or wedding shower, she would always have it at her house for her church family. She loved to host family holidays at her house and always had the biggest spread with all the best dishes plus her special sides of potato salad, macaroni salad and jello salad. She would also take special orders and make everyone the exact pie flavor they wanted. Nobody ever left hungry.
Betty & Kenny moved to Twin Falls, Idaho April 29, 1993, after living in Petaluma most of their lives.
Betty was happiest cooking for others and hosting visitors in her home in Twin Falls. She loved having her kids and grandkids frequent during their summer vacation time. She also loved bringing guests to church, taking them out to eat and to nearby Shoshone falls. She sent out Christmas news letters every year updating her friends and family on things that happened that year. She was so proud of her family and loved to share about them.
In addition to being a dedicated and loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Betty also loved cooking, reading, shopping, and tending to her flower beds. Once Kenny was no longer able to do it, she also loved mowing her big lawns in Twin Falls on her riding lawn mower. She also loved the color pink.
Throughout Betty’s entire life, she held an unwavering faith in God, which she shared with those who surrounded her. She would always pray for others when they were sick or hurting. She loved the song “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and also the Hymn “In the Garden”. She would often play those same songs for her family on her Organ at home.
Betty was preceded in death by her parents Emilie & Martin, husband Kenny, her siblings Robert, Ellen and Delbert, grandson Andrew and great granddaughter Sierra.
Betty is survived by her children, Wayne (Kelly), Pam (Buz), Jan (Gary), her grandchildren; Scott, Mindy, Tim (Kristina), Adrienne, Bree (John), Shauna (Ryan), and Ryan, and her great grandchildren; Ashley, Sophie, Sydney, Kaylie, Hayley, Garrett, Brady, Annabella, Grace, Lucy, Hannah and Hunter.
She loved many scriptures but here are a couple of her favorites:
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Even though we will miss our beloved mom, grandma and great grandma, we know she is reunited with the love of her life in Heaven, wearing her crown with many jewels, and for that we can be joyous.