Betty Swindell Lawrence

Betty Lorraine Swindell Lawrence passed away peacefully in the early morning of 26 October 2018, surrounded by loving family and listening to her favorite music. 

Betty is survived by her loving husband James Tilden Lawrence (her high school sweet heart and husband of 66 wonderful years) and her sister Kathryn E. Anderson. She is loving mother of four children, whom made her extremely proud. William T. Lawrence (spouse: Carol) of South Jordan. UT; Patricia L. Walkotte (spouse: Robert) of North Pole , Alaska; Louise A. Hesyck (Ken Ahles) of Paulden, Arizona; Nancy L. Dunham (deceased spouse Roy) of Prescott, Arizona. She has 11 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandsons. Betty was preceded in death by her parents (Torrence P. Swindell and Marian E. Hansen), son in law Frank J. Hesyck and grandson Dustin E. Hesyck. 

Betty was born in San Francisco, CA on 15 July 1933. She spent her childhood there, in Richmond, CA and in Ukiah, California where she graduated from Ukiah High School in 1951. Betty is a lifetime member of the California Scholarship Federation. She graduated in the top of her class and she and Jim were both the class valedictorians. While in High School, she was Honored Queen of Job’s Daughters of Masonic affiliation. After graduation, she attended Armstrong University California School of Business until her marriage in March 1952. 

Her early married life was spent in Berkeley, CA where she worked for American Trust Company. The family moved to Concord in 1962, and she worked for the county, including as the secretary for the District Attorney (which was her favorite job of all time). After her children had all graduated from High School, she and Jim moved to New Jersey where Betty graduated with honors in 1985 from Somerset County College with an AAS in Computer Science. She was employed as a Secretary to the President of a large Savings & Loan and transferred to Data Processing, which became her new career. She accepted a position with Summit Trust Company shortly before her graduation in 1985, moving up the ranks from Programmer to become a Project Manager and Officer of Summit Trust Company. 

In 1989, when Jim retired they moved to Arizona. Betty obtained a job at a large data research firm in Phoenix where she worked as a Project Manager. She retired from that firm in 1994. In 1991, she and Jim had a house built in Hidden Valley of Prescott, Arizona that she designed from all the things she wanted in a home. In 2017 they moved to Paulden, Arizona searching for a more rural environment. 

Betty loved to read books something that she shared with Jim and all of her children. She and Jim enjoyed traveling to many places, especially to the United Kingdom, and researching her and Jim’s own family history and genealogy. They completed many binders and CDs of this research to share with their children and family. She also enjoyed sewing (she made all of her girls dresses when they were young), completing craft projects decorating her home with many needlepoint pictures and crocheted blankets, and listening to music of the late 50’s and 60’s. She loved her cats and dogs she had over her lifetime especially Jesse, her golden retriever who recently passed.