Betty Lou Herring

Betty Lou Rogers Herring had a sudden departure from this life and danced into heaven on April 11, 2012. She lived life to the fullest right to the very end. She had many roles in her lifetime: daughter (the eldest girl in a family of thirteen), sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandma, great-grandma, and friend to all. She had a smile for everyone she met and along with it had an encouraging word. Betty was born November 23, 1931 in May Oklahoma to Willard and Ruth Rogers. She graduated from May High School in 1949. She attended Phillips University, Alva State Teachers College and eventually received her BA from Hayward State University in 1961. Early in her career she left Oklahoma and taught school in Kansas then moved to San Francisco where she met and married a handsome sailor- Harold Herring on October 1, 1953. In addition to teaching primarily kindergarten, she was an advocate for the physically challenged, lobbying for better accessibility for wheelchairs at the local, state and federal level. She was president of the PTO for several years at Glankler School for the Physically Challenged in Fremont California where her son Steve attended. She and her husband loved square dancing and traveling in their RV. After her husband died, Betty did not slow down in her retirement. At the age of 70 she trained for a marathon to help raise money for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Asociation She relocated to Spokane WA in 2003.. She attended Mt. Spokane Church where she worked in the nursery, helped with VBS and was known as “Grandma Betty” to many of the children there. She loved to help the kids with crafts. At Mt. Spokane Church she was a founding member of the JOY club . She was a member of the Red Hat club known as “The Dingalings”. In 2009, she was named Ms. Senior Washington and it was a highlight for her. She also loved reading and took some writing classes and hoped to complete her life story but had technical issues learning to use the computer. She always had many projects going on at the same time. Betty loved going on cruises and spending time with her family. She often went on trips with her siblings and was preparing to meet her 4 sisters in Florida the week she died. Betty was always the life of the party and had a costume for every occasion. This past year she lived at Northpointe Retirement Community and The Vintage Apartments where she made many new friends. She enjoyed going to the casino, happy hour and a half, potlucks and just spending time with other interesting people.. Betty is survived by her two children: Steve(Alicia) Herring Fremont CA, Robin (Jeff) Phillips Mead WA. Four grandchildren Caleb, Joshua and Hannah Phillips Mead WA, Kayla(Clinton) Brown and great-grandson Jakob all from Fremont CA. Brothers: Eldon, LeRoy, Donald and Tom Rogers. Sisters: Shirley Weizbrod, Mary Harber, Stella Freeman, and Glenda Reinier. And numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and life long friends. Please join us in celebrating the life of Betty Herring on Saturday April 21 at 11AM. Mt. Spokane Church 6311 E. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. Mead WA 99021 Lunch to follow. Betty had a heart for helping others and if you would like to donate in her memory please send to “Our Sisters Closet” YWCA 930 N. Monroe St. Spokane WA 99201