Betty Mae (Blythe) Dull
October 7, 1932 – March 1, 2021
Daughter, Sister, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, Great Great Grandmother, Aunt and Friend
Betty Mae Blythe was born in Loon Lake, SK to Etta (Byers) Blythe and Tom Blythe.
She was the little sister to Allan, Ross (Betty), Boyd (Joyce) and big sister to Ruth (Ken Bowman), Jim (Jean) and Dale (Lylena).
Betty grew up south of Makwa, in the Horsehead district. She attended country school in the Horsehead area – Blueberry and Sandy Ridge; high school in Makwa, then Meadow Lake. Following this, she attended Normal School in Saskatoon and completed her Education Certificate there – later she worked toward her Education Degree by distance. Betty taught in country schools with multiple grades at Resby, Rock Island and finally Clover Bar, where she met her one and only, Denver Dull. They were married November 27, 1954 in Meadow Lake. Betty was a substitute teacher for Meadow Lake School Division in the late 1960s into the 1970s. She also taught adult upgrading classes for a few years.
Denver and Betty’s first home was in the same yard where she and Denver lived until her passing.
Denver farmed with his dad and then on his own until his brother Clarence and sons Morley and Earl were old enough to join him. Betty made meals and delivered them to the field for many years, with or without kids, so the tractor did not have to stop for long. She was the happiest farm woman around when her daughters-in-law took over the field meal service!
Betty sewed, knitted and crocheted all her adult life until Arthritis took that ability away from her. She made all her kids’ clothes when they were small, including cute little dresses, that Judy refused to wear! She made fabric balls with bells for her grandchildren inside plus many baby quilts.
Betty learned how to drive in the 1960s. She practiced parallel parking in the yard between five gallon pails. She drove the three oldest kids to Clover Bar school and did a perfect 360 degree spin in the middle of the road the first winter she had her license, and had everyone to school on time!
She was an active member of the Clover Bar Ladies Club for many years. The club raised money for community needs. She enjoyed the friendships she had with the many neighbor ladies, as well as the activities they undertook.
Every summer, there was always a big vegetable garden until Betty could no longer manage the walk to the garden. Two falls in the soft dirt and she informed us, “That is it!”
Betty loved curling and took part in weekly leagues, as well as bonspiels with many different friends. When she was no longer able to curl, she was an avid fan of every curling event on television – even the re-runs were interesting! When curling was done she was looking for the Blue Jays games!
She was an active member of the Meadow Lake Senior Citizens group, starting out as the ‘baby’ in the group and finishing, likely as the most senior member. She so looked forward to the days she could go to the ‘center’ to play cards with her friends. She loved being in charge of the senior center rentals, the cards, the lunches and meeting new members. With declining health her visits were fewer per week since 2017 and Covid ended her attendance in 2020!
For the past three years Betty did not venture very far from home. A trip to “town” was a big trek, so she absolutely loved having family and friends stop by for a visit. She looked forward to Sunday visits from sister and brother-in-law – Cheryl & Jack. She talked for days about grandchildren stopping by and playing with the box of old toys. She looked forward to phone calls and was always worried about bothering someone with her phone calls. If you missed some of Dr Phil or Hot Bench, she could fill you in! She remembered birthdates, anniversaries and other significant dates even if she forgot to phone with a greeting.
Denver was her main care giver for the past three years, he paid her back for all the meals she hauled to the field. He took her to the senior center when she let her license go and to all her town appointments. He cooked, cleaned and did laundry when she was no longer able to stand or walk comfortably. He kept her drinking calories when her appetite was poor, which she complained about daily, but she knew he was just looking out for her.
Lovingly remembered, missed and survived by husband Denver; children: Debbie (Coleman Carey), Morley Dull, Earl Dull (Bev), Judy (Allen Brander); grandchildren: Lee (Colleen) Dull, Brennen (Kim) Carey, Kris (Nicole) Brander, Mik (Terry) Carey, Jamie (Alana) Brander, Natasha Dull (Trevor Sabin), Shane (Melissa) Dull, Scott (Sara) Brander, Morgan (Laura) Dull, Kade (Roxanne) Dull, Jayden Dull; 18 great grandchildren, 1 great great grandchild and many nieces and nephews.
She is survived by her sister: Ruth Bowman; brothers: Boyd and Dale Blythe; brother-in-law: Clarence Dull; sister-in-law: Cheryl (Jack) Russell.
Betty was predeceased by her parents: Tom & Etta Blythe; brothers: Allan, Ross and Jim Blythe; sisters-in-law: Betty Blythe and Lorraine Hawryliw; brothers-in-law: Ken Bowman and Pete Hawryliw.
Thank you to the home care staff, the hospital staff and the doctors who cared for Betty over the years and especially in the last two weeks of her life. She quite enjoyed all of you. Special thank you to Dr. Viljoen whose word was trusted more than the specialists she referred Betty to!! Thank you to the caregivers – Swapana, Melanie, Annette, Fawn and Karen – on her last admission, your caring and compassion will always be remembered!