June 20, 1915 to October 22, 2008. It is with sorrow we announce the passing of Betty Barnes at Kelowna General Hospital surrounded by friends. She was predeceased by her father, Paul Barnes in 1955, her mother, Olive in 1991 and her special friend, Mrs. Jessie Glover in 1992. She was also predeceased by her cousin, Robert, of Arkansas. Robert’s widow, Ada, is left to mourn Betty’s passing, along with Robert’s and Ada’s children and grandchildren. Also left to mourn are her cousin, Margaret and her husband, Raymond and their children all of Manitoba. Betty enjoyed the visits Margie and Ray were able to have with her as well as the visit this past summer with their son, Richard, his wife Melissa and their son, Phillip. In Kelowna, Betty leaves many friends who will miss her, especially Joyce, Glenys and Barbara. Betty had a long interesting life. She was born in Toronto, but had fond memories of childhood years spent in Denver, Colorado. She attended the University of Toronto, earning a BA in languages. She used her language skills during the war years in Postal Censorship, where she was engaged in reading material written in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and French. She retired to Kelowna from eastern Canada in the early 80’s. Over the years, Betty and her friend, Jessie, had been part owners of a race horse and travelled from as far as Hong Kong to Florida to watch races. As an associate member of the Kelowna Golf and Country Club, Betty enjoyed many years of bridge-playing with her fellow bridge aficionados. Another passion of Betty’s was cars. She entertained us with stories of her trip throughout Europe in the VW Beetle she bought over there. All of us admired her, when at age 87, she travelled by herself, in her new Toyota Avalon, from Kelowna to Toronto and back. Betty was well known for her passion for books and in recent months she has enjoyed trips to Chapters once or twice a month, chasing down her favourite mystery novelists, often returning with eight or ten books. Betty made many new friends in her last year and a half at Sandalwood. Her strong spirit allowed her to live independently right up until her last day. We’ll miss her. At her request, there will be no funeral service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation-General Fund, 2268 Pandosy Street, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 1T2 or the CNIB, 247 Lawrence Avenue, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 6L2. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.springfieldfuneralhome.com, 250-860-7077.