Betty Mae Arambarri

Betty Mae Arambarri

Betty Mae Arambarri, 87, passed from this earth on Feb. 16, 2011, at a Boise hospital.

A viewing will be held at Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel, from 4-6 p.m., on Sunday, Feb. 20. A funeral mass will be held at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church on Monday, Feb. 21, at 10 a.m., with internment following at the Glenn Rest Cemetery in Glenns Ferry.

Betty was born April 25, 1923, in Gooding. She attended school in Glenns Ferry, where she graduated as valedictorian of her high school class.

She married Lewis Arambarri in 1942 and following Lewis' return from WWII, they began a family in Hailey. They moved with their four children to Mountain Home in 1959, where they welcomed a fifth child. Lewis died in 1969.

Betty served as a foster parent and worked to successfully reunite her foster children with their families. She was an active volunteer at the Child Development Center and received the Department of Health and Human Services Distinguished Volunteer Award in 1984. She provided childcare for Maureen and Dylan Gingerich and maintained a lifelong, loving relationship with them and their parents.

She was active in the Catholic church.

Betty was a self-proclaimed bookworm and shared her love of reading with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

She enjoyed gardening and grew beautiful flowers. She also loved cats and maintained a special catnip garden.

She resided at Summer Wind Assisted Living, in Boise, for the last 2 1/2 years, where she enjoyed regular visits from family and friends, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She will be greatly missed by her surviving children: Virgie (Dean), Edward, Tony, Nick (Alice), John (Holly), her seven grandchildren (Phillip, Ali, Janie, Jason, Miren, Nash and Eli), six great-grandchildren (Tia, Chance, Marissa, Owen, Lizzy and Sloan), and sister-in-law Lorene Arambarri.

The family deeply appreciates the love and support given over the years by her many friends in Mountain Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Mountain Home Public Library, 790 N. 10th East St., Mountain Home, ID 83647.