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IN MEMORY

Betty Jo Holmes (Partridge) - Class Of 1938

Betty Jo Holmes was born September 12, 1920 and died at age 100+ on April 26, 2021.  Betty was born on a family farm near Monroe Center, Ogle county, Illinois, the youngest of identical twins.  The birth of twins came as a surprise to her parents!  Her family moved to Kenosha, WI in the 1930s, where her father managed a gas station, and her mother was a homemaker.

After graduation from Kenosha High School, Betty began dating Don Partridge until WWII disrupted life, and Don shipped overseas for several years.  Betty married Don in 1945 while he was home on 3-day leave and followed him to various military bases stateside during the remainder of WWII.  Their first child, Susan, was born in Texas, the second, Leslie, back in Kenosha and the last, Janet, was born in Des Moines, IA, where the family had moved with Don’s job.  In 1965, Betty and Don and the two youngest children moved from Des Moines to Los Angeles, where Don relocated his business.  Sue and her husband followed after college.  

Don had always enjoyed sailing and bought a sailboat where they spent most weekends; Betty was always “First Mate” and cook.  Betty and Sue worked at the family business until first Don and then Betty retired and moved to Oxnard, where Don docked his boat in their “front yard”!  Betty enjoyed family, reading, knitting and was Don’s best crew member on his succession of sail and then power boats.  They traveled up and down the coast and to the Channel Islands and Catalina.  They were members of the Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club, and Betty volunteered at St. John’s Hospital and the Public Library. Together, they made many trips to Florida and Wisconsin to visit family members, especially Betty’s twin, Mary.  After Don’s death in 2007, Betty remained in their home in Oxnard until her death, entertaining family most weekends and holidays.  She liked having her family at her home, and it was important for everyone to be there for the holidays.  In her later years, she retained her interest in reading, knitting and corresponding with family and friends.  She always had a book by her side and a birthday card or note in progress or ready to mail.

Betty is survived by her two younger brothers, Boyd and Glen; her children, Susan, Leslie and Janet; 4 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.

https://www.reardonfh.com/obituary/Betty-Partridge