In Loving Memory ~
With heavy hearts, we announce the peaceful passing of Elizabeth "Betty" Mary Rudolph (née Rymes) on August 17, 2023.
Betty had an enormous heart and a wonderful sense of humour. She was generous, loyal, resilient, and fiercely independent. As a loving mother to Carley Brockway, Jesse Cook, and Barbara Cook-Onushko, she will be deeply missed by her three children and their respective spouses Chris, Kathleen, and Ryan.
In addition, she leaves behind her adoring grandchildren Caira, Cage, Chayce, and Harper; her treasured cats, Cady and Lido; and grandcat Kitty.
Betty was born in the city of Fort William, Ontario on October 7, 1955. Over her life, she had many adventures living in Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta before she settled in her forever home of Kelowna, British Columbia 27 years ago.
Predeceased by her loving parents, Constance "Connie" and John Rymes, she grew up enjoying the outdoors and fell in love with the Okanagan.
Her family spent two months every summer playing in the waters of Wood Lake, while winters were spent closer to their hometown of Calgary, AB skiing on the slopes of Paskapoo and Norquay.
As the middle child, she is survived by her 4 siblings: Laura (Tim) Cholowski, Howard (Kathy) Rymes, Mart Christoffersen, and Andy Rymes, including their respective families. She often spoke of the many fond memories they shared together, and she will be sorely missed.
From a young child, Betty was an avid reader, and she also grew up with a love of music. She had warm memories of listening to her own mother play piano while she fell asleep, and was inspired to learn to play the piano herself.
Later in life, she learned guitar and spent many evenings letting her own kids fall asleep to the tunes of John Denver and Gordon Lightfoot as she practised in the evenings. Her passion for building a loving family filled with music, adventures, and living life to its fullest continued into adulthood; she spent many summers with her own three children camping at Mabel Lake, BC, and many winters filled with skiing at Nakiska, AB.
he met her first husband, Ken, at Ernest Manning High School in Calgary, AB. After graduating high school in 1974, she attended the University of Alberta, where she excelled in the Nursing program. She completed her studies in 1981 and worked as a registered nurse in BC and Alberta for many years.
While in Calgary, working now as a single parent, she made several lifelong friends who were a source of love and joy to her throughout her life. Continuing her studies, Betty earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from Athabasca University. After completing this degree, she moved to Kelowna, where she worked as the office manager of the Rutland Walk-In clinic for almost 20 years.
Betty was predeceased by her second husband and close friend, Heinz, who also shared a love of ballroom dancing and living in the Okanagan.
While in Kelowna, Betty became quite the enthusiastic gardener, and enjoyed using her homegrown vegetables to try new recipes and expand on her knowledge of cooking and baking. She was quite talented at making delicious preserves - her homemade salsa, jams, and red pepper jellies were her specialty and were much sought after items.
She will be greatly missed by her neighbours Sheree, Dirk, and Willem. They shared many wonderful conversations, about gardening, their cats, and life in general. This circle truly went above and beyond as they shared their little corner of paradise, and Betty considered them as her extended family.
Over the past twenty years, Betty also found many evenings filled with joy while learning to play bridge. These weekly get-togethers were off the table for any other gatherings, and she was not to be disturbed while enjoying this time.
A special thank-you to her former and current bridge partners for the evenings they shared filled with laughter and happy memories. Kudos to Betty's dear friend Lyn Parsons (and Rome) for her gift of bringing playfulness and joy in Betty's final weeks.
Over the years, Betty has touched the lives of so many - it is hard to say goodbye to such a wonderful woman. She is at peace and will be deeply missed. In lieu of a formal gathering, we encourage friends and family to continue to share stories and fond memories.
Always an animal lover, donations can be made in her name to the SPCA, spca.bc.ca.
Condolences, photos, and memories may be sent to the family by visiting her obituary page at www.springfieldfuneralhome.com
Stettler Funeral Home & Crematorium