Obituary

Betty Sue Edmonson Gould

  (October 30, 1927 – March 29, 2023)

Betty “Sue” passed away the morning of March 29, after a long bout with dementia, at the age of 95. To the world, Sue appeared as a typical housewife, mother of four children, grandmother of six, and great-grandmother; but although she was unassuming, there was so much more to her life than one of a homemaker.

Sue grew up during the Great Depression, with just her mom and two siblings, and life was tough. She learned early the importance of education, work, and frugality – and she had several jobs, many paying very little but helping her family make ends meet. She married young, a Navy man, Louis E. Gould after WWII, and had her first baby, David, at just 19 years of age – and then Christi, Steven, and Mary Beth followed. Very recently, we discovered her employment resumes and were amazed at all the jobs she held throughout her life, these were things she didn’t really talk about, but paint the picture of who she was at her core – someone intelligent, creative, with strong participation in serving others. She worked at classic companies such as the Morton Salt Co., Southern Bell, American Red Cross, and, F.W. Woolworth’s to name a few. And the jobs she held were delightful to read about! She was a newspaper classified ad writer, a “messenger girl,” a bookkeeper, a telephone operator, an employment counselor, a receptionist…! One job description made us smile – from when she worked at the News-Register newspaper in Fremont, California: “Duties were meeting and greeting the public – from newsboys to friendly undertakers, the mayor, clowns, and other public figures (like the Oakland Raiders).” Some early jobs she listed were only paying 65 cents an hour! All the while she managed her household and cared for her four children as best she could.

She was born in Arkansas, moved to St. Louis, MO, and then to DuBois, PA when she married. Then, she moved with her young family to Fremont, California for Louis’ work transfer where she attended Community College and studied English Literature and Adolescent Psychology (her family didn’t know this). She was a volunteer Girl Scout, Cub Scout, and Brownie group leader, too.  After Fremont, California, she moved to Beaver Falls, PA with her family and attended Community College there, as well!

She was of strong religious faith throughout her life and volunteered as a Deacon of her church for several years. Sue also served as a young women’s counselor at a church conference for 9 years.  She was a volunteer for FISH (a service organization) in Beaver Falls for 5 years, helping to provide meals for shut-ins, babysitting, and transportation for the elderly to doctor appointments and other care. She taught Sunday School for eleven years and Vacation Bible School for almost 25 years. She loved to read. Sue attended and hosted Bible study groups, too, throughout her life. At one point, she was a delegate from her church to the National Meeting at Purdue University! Although she was an active member of the United Presbyterian Church in Beaver Falls, she felt she would always be a Southern Baptist at heart.

Sue had a creative side, as well. She loved to paint and later in life did beautiful stamping of cards. And she was an avid genealogist – all researched without the use of computers! She had photos and information going back many generations and passed that love down to her sons. We have boxes of photos with descriptions in her handwriting of people from long ago.

Later in life when her husband died, she moved to sunny Florida to escape the Pennsylvania winters. She was happy there, met new friends and attended church and gatherings regularly. After a while, not feeling secure with her health, she made the decision to move to a continuing care – retirement community facility in Stockton, California, close to her son David and her family there. While in Stockton, David and Pei helped to oversee her care. And finally, the decision to move her to New Jersey was made, so her son Steve could oversee her care at a Memory Care facility.

Throughout life, she enjoyed her family – she lived close to her two daughters Christi and Beth in Pennsylvania and many of her grandchildren. In her last years especially, she delighted in seeing photos of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and commented on how beautiful they all were and asked if she could visit with them.

Betty Sue is survived by her children and daughters-in-law: David (Pei), Christi, Steve (Mayra), and Mary Beth; her dear grandchildren: Jessica, Diane (Joe), Benjamin (Dianne), Bill (Jessica), Amanda (Shawn), Larissa, and Ryan (Jen); beautiful great-grandchildren: David, Tiffany, Jenna, Ryan, Isabella, Caleb, Landon, Max, Anna, Madison, Avery, Maci; and her cute great-great-grandchild: Clarissa. She is also survived by very dear nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and a few dear old friends from long ago.

Viewing and services for Betty Sue will be held at Gabauer-Lutton, Chippewa, Funeral Home in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania (9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.) on April 8, 2023.

We thank everyone for their expression of love upon her passing. In lieu of flowers, the family would be honored by donations to the New Wilmington Mission Conference, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, if desired. 724-946-9770.  www.nwmcmission.org