Elizabeth "Betty" Marian Rouse Obituary (1936 - 2020)

Betty Rouse, age 83, of Baker City passed away on January 16, 2020 at Settler's Park Assisted Living Community. A visitation will be held on Friday, January 24, 2020 at Gray's West & Company from 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM. A Recitation of the Rosary will be held at 6:00 pm on Friday, January 24, 2020, at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral followed by Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, January 25, 2020, at 10:00 AM at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral in Baker City. Father Suresh Kumar Telagani will be officiating. Interment will be at Mt. Hope Cemetery following the service. Friends are invited back to the church after the interment for a reception in the Parish Hall. All are welcome. Betty was born on August 17, 1936 in Baker, Oregon; the second of three children to Lloyd and Elizabeth (Holland) Izatt. She, her older brother Mariner, and younger sister Eleanor "Ellie", were raised on a ranch in the McEwen Valley, near the ranch of Lloyd's sister Ellen (Izatt) Defrees and husband Albert Defrees. She had many fond memories of riding horseback during World War II to the McEwen School and all over the ranch as a child. She also used to talk about all the practical jokes her and her siblings would play on the hired hands that worked on the ranch. Her father Lloyd died unexpectedly in 1942 and her mother ran the ranch through the end of the war. It was tough for a young widow with three little children, and a shortage of ranch hands, to keep the place running well. So, in 1946 Elizabeth sold the ranch to Dan Warnock and moved everyone into Baker. Betty went through the rest of her schooling in Baker and graduated from Baker High School in 1953. She attended Eastern Oregon State College, now Eastern Oregon University and graduated with an Associates Degree in Business in 1955. She then went to work at Baker High School as a secretary in the office for a couple of years. While attending Baker High School she met Michael Joseph Rouse. Michael and Betty were married on July 7, 1956 at the St. Francis de Sales Cathedral in Baker. They went on to have three son's Michael, Jeffery, Timothy, and daughter Michelle; which kept her very busy cooking, cleaning, and just being a mom. Her husband Michael died suddenly in April 1996, just a little over two month's short of their 40th wedding anniversary. Betty worked for Pioneer Bank for close to 20 years until Sterling Bank bought them out in 2007, and she enjoyed working there. She always talked about how well she liked working there. "It was easy to go to work when you're working with nice people." She always enjoyed gardening and especially her love of high quality registered roses. She would spend hours pruning and caring for her roses. Betty was preceded in death by her parents Lloyd and Elizabeth, husband Michael, brother Mariner, sister "Ellie"Charlton, son Jeffery, and nephew Paul Izatt. She is survived by children Michael, Timothy, and Michelle Rouse-Lien. Her father's half-brother Professor Reed Izatt, Cousin Lyle Defrees. Grandchildren; Melissa Rouse, Nick Lien, Chris Lien, Caitlin Rouse-Anderson, Ryan Rouse, Whitney Rouse, and great granddaughter Evelyn St. Mars; all of Vancouver, WA; and nieces Kelly Charlton & Betsy Charlton-Powell of Sauvie Island, OR; cousin Ken Holland of Portland, OR. The family would like to thank Betty's in home care giver's, staff at Settler's Park, and doctor's at St. Alphonsus for their exceptional dedication and help for Betty; also, longtime friends & neighbor Bob and Marilyn Harrison; and the Defrees family for all they have done. The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the St. Francis de Sales Cathedral Boiler Fund through Gray's West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.