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Service

Saturday, October 7, 2017
11:00 AM EDT
First United Methodist Church
100 W Vine St.
Fort Branch, IN 47648
(812) 753-4424

Burial will follow at Blythe Chapel Cemetery in Owensville, Indiana.

Life Story / Obituary


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Bettie Shaw, of Traverse City, passed from this earthly life July 26, 2017 with her family by her side. Born Bettie Ruth Woolston in rural Owensville, Indiana, on July 1, 1928, she was the third of 15 children born to Ennes and Ruby Woolston. It was a hardscrabble existence for the tenant farmer, Enos, Ruby, their nine boys and six girls. Some years their two-bedroom house necessitated the Woolston clan eating their meals in shifts. Sleeping arrangements were also challenging. In colder weather multiple sleeping partners provided welcome added warmth. Warmer weather allowed options of curling up on pallets on the floor, sleeping on the front porch and, for the hardier boys, climbing up into the attic space.

Bettie was preceded in death by husband, Bill, in 2011; brothers, Jerry, Bill, Bob, Fred and David; and sister, Thelma.

Surviving siblings include Don, of Poseyville, Indiana, Ken, of Morgantown, Indiana, Denny, of Evansville, Indiana, Steve, of Rockville, Indiana, Beulah Miller, of Daleville, Indiana, Carol Davis, of Haubstadt, Indiana, Judy Buck, of Noblesville, Indiana, and Zella Frey, of Owensville, Indiana.

On March 8, 1947 Bettie married William Shaw, of rural Haubstadt, Indiana. Bill's career led the couple to Evansville, Lafayette and Indianapolis, Indiana, Dayton, Ohio, and finally, Traverse City. Shortly after Bill's retirement in 1978 the couple moved back to rural Haubstadt, Indiana, to the homestead where Bill was born. A cottage on Pearl Lake near Lake Ann provided their escape, a place to fish and relax. In later years Bill and Bettie shared their time between a home near Bradenton, Florida, and their cottage on Log Lake near Kalkaska before settling in Traverse City. The couple enjoyed traveling and entertaining friends and family, whether at their Northern Michigan getaways or their Florida home.

Bettie is also survived by daughter, Bonnie Schlagel, of Traverse City; sons, Doug (Paula), of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Jeff (Robin), of Traverse City; grandchildren, Amy (Steve) Stevenson and Curtis (Melissa) Shaw, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Carrie (Matt) White, of Louisville, Kentucky, and Katelyn, of Traverse City; and great-grandchildren, Anna, Jacob, Maddox and Macy, all of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Jude and Calvin, of Louisville, Kentucky.

Wherever Bill and Bettie settled they became active members of their local congregation. Bettie enjoyed serving in a variety of functions from VBS and Sunday school teacher to volunteer church secretary to speaking at various women's retreats. She was also an avid bowler in both Indianapolis, Indiana, and Traverse City, proudly racking up her share of 500-series over the years.

A joint memorial service will be held for both Bettie and Bill on Oct. 7, 2017 at the First United Methodist Church in Fort Branch, Indiana, at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Blythe Chapel Cemetery, Owensville, Indiana.

Please visit www.lifestorynet.com to share your memories with the family.

Arrangements are being handled by Life Story Funeral Home in Traverse City.