Betty Beaudet

Betty Beaudet peacefully left the confines of this earth on February 27, 2023 surrounded by family and overlooking her lovely canyon after a life of almost 98 years of giving and loving.  Betty was born in Tassajara, CA (now a part of San Ramon) on July 1, 1925 to William and Grace Beyer and spent the first 8 years of her life playing in the hills behind the one room school house on Finley Road where her mother taught.  Later in life we would go to the school house for picnics and she would tell the stories of rolling tractor tires down the hills, playing in the creek where lush ferns grew, and helping firefighters as they fought fires up on Mt Diablo.  At age 8 the family moved to Livermore, CA where she would attend Livermore Elementary and High Schools.  She continued to meet with her remaining classmates of the class of 1943 until the spring of 2022.  She briefly attended UC Berkely, but found a better fit at San Jose State where she graduated with a degree in social work.  During her college years she carpooled from Livermore to San Jose with a young man, Thomas Beaudet, whom she would marry in 1952.

Tom and Betty eventually settled in Lafayette, CA where they raised their two sons, Steve and Paul, and their daughter, Libbie.  They encouraged activities for the growth and development of their children and supported them in all their endeavors.  Betty was a PTA president, den mother, girl scout leader, carpool organizer, swim meet timer and meet organizer all in support of her children’s activities.  The family enjoyed camping and fishing together and several times took one-month trips to visit National Parks and famous lakes and rivers.  After Tom passed away in 1984, Betty became involved with the Widows and Widowers Network in Walnut Creek where she made many friends and learned to live independently without her beloved Tom.  The bridge group she joined there continued to meet for many years.  It was during this time that Betty began to play golf and it became one of the loves of her life.  Betty also began to travel with friends, something she greatly enjoyed.  As the family home became difficult to care for, Betty moved to Rossmoor where she enjoyed many group activities.  She volunteered as a docent at the Lesher Center for the Arts and joined the Civic Arts League, but the one activity that continued to capture her fancy was golf.  She joined the Happy Hackers, a group designed for those learning the game and for those that just wanted to enjoy it without pressure, and held every board position possible over the 20 years she lived in Rossmoor.  At the end of her ability to play, she enjoyed helping to organize scrambles and social events. Betty’s great curiosity and gregariousness led her into many activities and brought her many friends throughout her life.  She never met a soul she couldn’t talk to and enjoyed finding out about other people, even on the airplane.   Betty was a woman of great strength and courage as she faced life without Tom, and her children are immensely proud of the example she set of how to keep living in joy as life presents unexpected difficulties.  She was the best mom a child could have.

Betty was predeceased by her parents, William and Grace Beyer; her brothers Peter and Keith; her sister-in-law Sister Marion Timothy; her brother-in-law, John; and her husband, Thomas.  She is survived by her children Steve (Vicki), Paul, and Libbie (Mike Mayhew); five grand-daughters, Kara and Kaitlyn Beaudet; Jessica (Evan Decker), Parker and Kristen Mayhew; her sister-in-law, Phyllis Beyer and 8 nieces and nephews.  Special thanks to all of Betty’s caregivers and homecare services for their compassionate care of Betty at the end of her life.

 A graveside service for family will be held at Oakmont Cemetery in April.  In lieu of flowers, donations to the following are suggested:  Livermore Heritage Guild, www.lhg.org / Hospice of the East Bay, www.hospiceeastbay.org  or a charity of your choice.

To share memories of Betty please visit the online guestbook at Oakmont Memorial Cemetery.