Bette Haynes

BETTE DARLENE STEUART HAYNES

Bette Darlene (Steuart) Haynes was born April 9, 1938, in Fowler, California, to Ralph Eugene Steuart (1906-1991) and Elsie Madge Harrah Steuart (1914-1999).  The family

lived briefly in Fresno, CA, then moved to Exeter, CA, when Bette was a toddler.  Bette’s complete family consisted of older brother Robert Eugene (b. 1935) and younger brother James (Bud) William Steuart (b. 1940).

Bette attended Lincoln Elementary and then Exeter Union High School, graduating in 1956.  She served as Worthy Advisor for Rainbow Girls during high school and worked summers (1952-58) at Douglass Cold Storage in Exeter weighing truckloads of peaches.

From 1956 to 1958, she attended the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA.  During this time, she represented the college at an interpretive reading contest in San Francisco, CA, by interpreting O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi”.  In the summer of 1959, Bette worked in Exeter setting up an office for a local farmers association.

For the next 2 years, Bette lived at home and commuted to Jr. College.  She served Rainbow Girls as Grand Faith in Sacramento, CA (5th highest state office), and graduated in 1958 with an Associates of Arts Degree.  From 1958 to 1960, she attended Fresno State College, living near Fresno City College during her junior year in a boarding house with 3 other girls.  In 1959, she moved on campus for her senior year living in Graves Hall (1959), where she was introduced to her future husband, Louis Haynes by Glenn Davis, a fraternity brother from Modesto, CA.  Bette graduated in June 1960, with a bachelor’s degree in Education and began her teaching career as the 4th grade teacher at Viking Elementary with Fresno City Schools (1959-63).  Bette remained in Exeter until she married in 1961.

On June 25, 1961, Bette married Louis Vernance Haynes (b. 1937) in Lindsay, CA.

Bette continued to teach elementary school while Lou completed his degree.  Upon Lou’s graduation in 1963, they moved to Riverside, CA.  Here Bette taught 4th grade at Mt. View Elementary for Riverside City Schools (1963-67) while Lou worked on his graduate degree at the University of California at Riverside.  They then moved to Cincinnati, OH, in 1967 when Lou received his PhD in Chemistry and took a job with Procter & Gamble.

Once arriving in Ohio, Bette and Lou lived their first year in the Forest Park Apartments in Forest Park, OH.  They moved to their first home on Chelmsford Road, Forest Park in 1968.  Their first son, Lawrence (Larry) Bradley was born on July 19, 1969.  Their second son, Brian Steuart was born on July 3, 1971.  During this time, Bette and her family attended Forest Chapel United Methodist Church in Forest Park where she served as a Sunday School Teacher and Division Counselor.  In 1976, Bette and Lou built a new home in Union Township (Pisgah) at 9668 Iris Drive, where they both lived until their deaths.

Bette worked as a learning disability tutor at Hopewell Jr. School for the Lakota School District from 1977 to 1979.  She then worked for Mason City Schools from 1979 to 1997 as an LD tutor, LD teacher and Support Educator serving multi-levels of students with disabilities.  Bette was a very loving and attentive educator.  Many of her former students over the years remained in contact with her after their graduations and her retirement in 1997.

Bette’s interests over the years have included not only teaching public school and Sunday School, but also serving as Division Counselor for teachers at Forest Chapel, helping at her kids’ co-op nursery school, and serving in the PTA.  Bette was often found doing yard work, reading, crocheting, working cross stitch, and putting jigsaw puzzles together.  She very much enjoyed watching her boys play a variety of sports throughout the years.  Much of her retirement time was spent with Lou, enjoying their six grandchildren.

Bette is survived by her brothers Bob (Joanne) Steuart and Bud (Jean) Steuart, her son Larry (Trish Doran) and son Brian (Shelly Sova), and six grandchildren:  Jacob, Lauren, Madelyn, Christopher, Mallory and Diana.