Bette Durnford's Obituary
Former Seymour, Missouri resident, Bette Durnford, 91, died October 9th, 2010 in Bellingham, Washington of a heart attack.
Bette was born May 15th, 1919 in Seymour, Missouri. She proudly called herself a fourth generation hillbilly, the only child of Robert Evan and Doris Rhodes McMahan, both pioneer families of Webster County, Missouri. She graduated from Seymour High School in 1936 and received her bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Drury College in Springfield.
While working as a summer camp counselor at St. John’s Military Academy in Wisconsin, she met her future husband, Ronald Maurice Durnford. Her third summer there, they eloped and got married in Dubuque, Iowa on July 3rd, 1940. They had been married for 41 years when Ronald died in 1981.
In the years leading up to the war, they lived in St. Louis. After Ronald joined the navy, she got a job and remained in St. Louis for the duration of the war. Afterwards, they moved to Seymour to start McMahan-Durnford Oil Company with her father. Bette taught elementary school in the Seymour Schools for several years and was active in many social and civic organizations, including the Seymour Alumna and the Webster County Centennial.
They moved to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, in 1966, where she continued to be an active member of her new community. She taught for many years at Ashippun Elementary School where she used Newspaper in the Classroom for her curriculum. The Wisconsin Journal of Education and The Waukesha Freeman both wrote articles featuring her and her innovative teaching style. She also taught at Greenland School. She was selected Teacher of The Year. Bette was a member of AAUW, Delta Kappa Gamma, Oconomowoc Retired Educator’s Association and Wisconsin Regional Writers Association.
While her “day job” was teaching, she spent her night shift doing her other passion, writing. She won The Yarns of Yesteryear in 1988. She left behind volumes of poems, family stories, skits, plays and historical accounts of her home town.
Bette was also an avid sports and St. Louis Cardinal Baseball fan. She held season tickets for Wisconsin Badger football and Milwaukee Brewer games for many years. She enjoyed playing bridge, reading, travel and jazz music. Her enthusiasm was contagious to all those fortunate enough to enjoy her company.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ronald, and her daughter and son-in-law, Pamela Sue Durnford and Elwood Sheehan Ewing.
Survivors include a son, Ronald Robert Durnford, New Orleans, LA; daughter, Elizabeth Travis Durnford and husband, William Grether, Bellingham, WA; granddaughter, Elizabeth Sheehan Ewing and great grandson, Emile Sheehan Ewing, New Orleans, LA.
A visitation will be from 6 to 7 p.m., November 15, 2010 with a Celebration of Life service following at 7 p.m. in Holman-Howe Funeral Home, Seymour, Missouri with Reverend Roy Cantrell officiating. Burial will be in Seymour Masonic Cemetery. Contributions may be made in Bette’s name to the Seymour Library in care of the funeral home, P.O. Box 366, Seymour, Missouri 65746
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