Betty Leona and Merritt Worthington Major

Betty Leona Major, born August 9, 1932, in Sheridan, Wyoming, to Bessie (Youngberg) and Wendall Thomas, passed away from complications associated with Alzheimer's disease on November 26, 2019.

Her tenacious and hardworking spirit was perhaps a result of a tough start when she was born prematurely, and her mother died in childbirth. She was raised as her own by Ruth Thomas (Youngberg), Bessie's sister and Wendall's second wife, and Betty was eventually joined in the world by a younger sister, Sheridan resident Darlene Felde.

Betty spent her youth in Sheridan, graduating from Sheridan High School in 1950, going on to graduate from St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, Denver, Colorado in 1953 - a happy time of growth and exploration that she often recounted. Betty married the love of her life and high school sweetheart, Merritt Major, in Sheridan, June 12, 1954.

She suffered from Alzheimer's but was blessed in that her unique form of the disease didn't rob her of cherished memories of her beloved Merritt, who preceded her in death by just over a little more than a year, dying of a stroke November 1, 2018.

Merritt Worthington Major was born August 17, 1931 to Merritt B. and Mariette (Worthington) Major, also in Sheridan. He was a 1949 graduate of Sheridan High School, and he went on to earn dental and orthodontics baccalaureate degrees; Dean's list from Stanford University, and Phi Kappa Phi from the University of Michigan.

After college and marriage, Betty and Merritt lived on Mountain Home Airforce Base while Merritt served in the US Air Force, at which time daughters Joanne and Catherine were born. They then moved to Bremerton, Washington where son John was born, eventually settling down in Tracyton, Washington. During these years Merritt set up his dental and then orthodontics practices, and taught school at Central Kitsap High School and Olympic College, and Betty continued her work as a registered nurse. Betty was a trailblazer, raising three children and holding down a fulltime career, before it was 'a thing'. She worked at Harrison Memorial Hospital, Horton Nursing Home and was Head Nurse at Belmont Terrace, before becoming the RN serving the patients of Dr. David Hennes, at what was then the fledgling Doctors Clinic, and which is now an important medical institution serving communities across the Olympic Peninsula. She loved being a nurse. She also was an accomplished seamstress, weaver and quilter, and made lifelong friends while creating marvelous textiles.

Betty and Merritt were married for 65 years. In addition to their children, they are survived by grandchildren Brianna, Sean and Michael, and by great grandchildren Jamison and Savannah.

The Sheridan Press - Dec. 7, 2019.