Betty N. Neish

Betty N. Neish passed away at Caretel Inns, Saint Joseph, MI on August 11, 2008. She was born in Portland, Oregon at Emanuel Hospital on September 15, 1925, a daughter of Harley Duran Eves and Audrey Miller Eves. She was graduated from Jefferson High School and became the first member of her family to attend college, completing one year at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. While attending a dance held by her sorority, Betty met her future husband Captain Elmer E. “Tuggs” Neish, a captain in the Marine Corps. They married in July following her freshman year. Shortly afterward Tuggs received military orders for an overseas assignment where he flew in the Pacific Theatre of WWII. Betty traveled across the U.S.A. to meet her new husband’s family in Pittsburgh, PA and resided there with her in-laws until her husband returned from the war. They settled in Washington, PA where they were active members of the community for many years. Tuggs was Comptroller of the Washington Hospital until his retirement. After her husband’s death in 1981, Betty moved to northern California to be closer to her family. She lived in Cupertino, Santa Clara, and then in San Jose at The Villages. In March 2008, she moved to Caretel Inns, an assisted living retirement community in Saint Joseph, MI, where she spent the remainder of her days. Throughout her life Betty was actively involved in her church, most recently at the Villages where she had served as President of the Protestant Chapel Association. She was a devoted wife and mother whose greatest pleasures were her family and her friends. She loved music, played duplicate bridge for many years, and had an artistic eye with a special talent for flowers and home design. She is survived by two daughters, Joann Metz of Danville, CA and Barbara Grundy of Saint Joseph, MI, her brother Thomas Eves of San Jose, CA, two grandchildren, Geoffrey Grundy of Erie, PA and Rebecca Cullen of Shorewood, IL and two great-grandchildren, Elizabeth and Sean Cullen. Memorial services will be held at Saint Joseph Catholic Church on Tuesday, August 19th at 11:30AM in Saint Joseph, MI and at The Villages in San Jose, CA. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guest book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Those wishing to make a donation in her memory are requested do so to in the name of Betty N. Neish to the Alzheimer’s Association.