Elizabeth Jane Larlee

Elizabeth Jane Emmons was born on January 5, 1921. Her mother, Mildred Winn, was 21 and her father, Howard Emmons, was 23 when she was born. They lived in Marcellus, New York. Elizabeth, who went by Betty most of her life, had one older brother, Robert, and two younger siblings – Frances and Richard. Dick is now the only surviving member of her immediate family. We all knew her as mom, mother, grandma, or great-grandma. As a child, she was “Emmy” and occasionally “String Bean” or “Toothpick.” When her baby sister, Frances, was born, her parents put candy in the crib for her. Betty lived in five different places growing up – all in New York State. As she grew, her brother, Bob, made homemade radios and had radio parts all over the place. As an adult, he worked for General Electric. Her sister worked selling Dutchmaid clothing, and her youngest brother, Dick, became a High School music teacher.
One of the childhood memories Betty recorded was that her grandmother bought her a new dress when she was 10. It was her first “boughten” dress, and it cost 69 cents. All the rest of her dresses were made by her mother (something she later did for her own daughters). Her grandmother came through for her again, purchasing her first “long” dress for her graduation, and it was really expensive – it cost $6.00!
Betty described herself growing up as shy, skinny, intellectual, and timid. Despite that, she was in a play in High School in Cleveland, New York, and played an old lady, so she had powder in her hair. She also won a prize for speaking two times during those same high school years.
Betty graduated from High School at age 16 and went to work for the phone company as a switchboard operator. Her first job was in the back bedroom of a woman’s home, where there was one switchboard that served a whole town. Later, she moved and continued to work for the phone company. She often told the story of being at work on D-Day when World War II ended, and as she used to say, “the switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree, and all the lines were jammed!”
Betty attended Nursing School at the General Hospital of Syracuse, New York, and graduated on September 6, 1946, as a Registered Professional Nurse. She enrolled at Gordon College in Boston, Massachusetts, in January 1947. Betty Emmons met Charles H. Larlee at a freshman reception in February, and they were engaged at Christmas two years later in 1948. They were married at Aroostook Baptist Church on August 3, 1949, and Betty wore a wedding gown made by her grandmother, who was still watching out for her and making sure she had the dresses she needed.
Only one year later, on Tuesday, November 28, 1950, Charles and Betty Larlee left the United States for Japan. On the day before they left, Charles recorded this:
God bless dear Art Chrysler who was good to us. Even in his busy schedule he found time to take all our things to the pier, also things for the Hegges’ cabin; 23 pieces for us and 4 for the Hegges.

Betty phoned her mother at noon and they arrived shortly after 4pm. We had supper with Mom, Dad and Dick at Fisherman’s Wharf. We had a good time and the food was delicious. We picked up the baby food (3 cases), which were at Pier 45-A. Betty’s folks left us about 8:30 pm and we had prayer on the dock.

On the next day he wrote:

Betty and I call home (Aroostook) and 7:30 pm from the phone booth in the entrance to Pier 56. We talked to Mother and Charlene. Dad was in St. Stephens with the railroad. We talked 10 to 15 minutes anyway. Jo Chrysler and Ted and Ellen Bowman came to see us off. We had prayer in Hegges’ stateroom no., as ours was not straightened yet. We have stateroom no. 1. As we begin our ocean voyage, two passages come to me from the Lord. One in Psalm 91:10-12; and the other the words of God to Moses in Exodus 33:14 “My presence shall go with them and I will give thee rest.”

On the next day, they set sail for Japan and Charles wrote:

We arose early to take our last look at the Golden Gate Bridge for 5 years. The boat weighed anchor at a little past 6:00 am. The fog was so thick we could scarcely make out the bridge. Cathy was frightened miserably by the foghorn on the ship. She finally slept, however, moving restlessly whenever the thing sounded. Meals are wonderful, meat for all three meals each day. I guess this is a luxury for us. We were very tired. Rested much of the day. Neither of us have our sea legs as yet. Betty took her first Dramamine in the morning after breakfast. I held off till noon. My lunch and I nearly parted company; a pill saved the lunch. We are both drowsy tonight, expect it’s from the pills…

Charles and Betty went to Japan with one daughter and returned with three daughters and one son. Cathy Heather was born before they left. Daniel Charles was born in Tokyo. Barbara Dawne was born in Karuizawa and Annette Elizabeth was also born in Tokyo.

They returned from Japan in the spring of 1956. The family for now six stayed with Betty’s parents in California then slowly made their way back across the country to New Brunswick where they settled in for a year of furlough that turned into more when Danny got Perthes Disease and was put in a wheelchair and then on crutches. As soon as he was given medical clearance they headed back across the country to return to Japan. Betty was denied medical clearance (due to arthritis) when they reached California and the family settled in Sacramento. This was a dream reversal for Charles and Betty and they struggled to understand this unexpected life change.

Betty found work as a nurse at Sutter General Hospital and Charlie worked as a bookkeeper for H. O. Adams Tile Company and then as a chaplain for the Salvation Army. He went back to school for a short time dabbling with getting a teaching credential, but finally took a position as a civilian worker at McClellan Air Force Base. Two more children were born in Sacramento – Eric Thomas and Robert Fraser and the family of eight lived in a rented three bedroom, one bath home on Watt Avenue until 1967, when a builder at the church they attended helped finance the purchase of their first home with five bedrooms and 2 ½ bathrooms on Whitney Avenue.

The family expanded to include two dogs (not at the same time), Scamp, and finally Beau, who lived a good long life attached particularly to Barbara and Bob and Mom. The house had frequent visitors included a long list of kid’s friends, boarders, and Grandpa Emmons and Step-grandma, Vi. A cat joined Beau, and Betty and her father were especially fond of the cat (who never did have a formal name).

During all those years, Betty continued to work at Sutter General and then at Sutter Memorial Hospitals on a graveyard shift. She confessed during the years she was raising young children that she didn’t really mind going to work – “at least they do what I say there,” she said. Only once did she fall asleep sitting in the car, which was still running, in the garage and when her foot slipped off the brake the car lurched forward and crunched the front end.

The family was very active at Arcade Baptist Church in youth programs, choirs, Charlie on the Deacon and Mission boards, and even Betty participated in the White Cross work days making things for missionaries when she could. The family was also active at Wolf Mountain, an independent Christian camp in Grass Valley, California. Bob was the only one of the children to begin his school years at Whitney Avenue (everyone else spent at least all or part of their time at Thomas Edison Grade School) and then Winston Churchill Junior High and finally Mira Loma High School. One by one, each of the six children moved away for college or marriage or work. Some came home for short periods, but by 1983, everyone was gone. Charlie’s health began to fail and he experience a series of small strokes that took their toll. Cathy and her children moved back in with Betty to take care of him and he died on October 20, 1987.

After a period of grieving, Betty had a number of good years. She attended the gym regularly and was active in her Seniors group at Arcade Baptist Church, and traveled with them and on her own to see her children and her sister, Fran, in Florida and her mother’s only living relatives, the Wynns, in Los Angeles. Betty was instrumental in providing a home for her granddaughter, Becky, her grandson, Jesse, and Becky’s children, Elizabeth and Tyler.

Betty moved to live with Annette in New Mexico in 1998 where her health and memory began to deteriorate. Annette and Rick moved her to Portland, Oregon where she lived at Park Place Assisted Living a short distance from Barbara’s home. She spent the last nine months of her life in a wonderful adult foster care home with a loving Romanian family. Betty died on Tuesday, February 1st, 2005, at 8:00 pm. She had many of her children and grandchildren circling her bed all day, talking and reliving memories. Perhaps the voices in the background had the familiarity of the years when she slept days and worked nights and though all of us children were instructed to be quiet when we came home from school, she always slept better when there was a little noise in the background.