By Wally Pearce, Winters Elder Day Council
Special to the Express
On her brother’s birthday, Betty Yamashita was born in Rio Vista, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 8, 1928. Although Betty is relatively new to Winters, her roots go back over 30 years.
Shortly after Betty was born her family moved to Sacramento, and then into the Bay Area. Growing up, Betty lived with her family in a rural environment and quite a long distance from town, so she spent most of her time in school and working on the family farm, where she learned how to can food. Betty said she did enjoy sewing and embroidery. Growing up Betty always had pets, including a baby calf.
At age 15, Betty’s brother taught her how to drive while on his paper route. Betty recalls that her first car was a 1937 Chevy Coupe.
Betty graduated from San Ramon High School in 1946, just after WWII. The class was mostly girls as many of the boys were still in the military. Betty said her first job out of high school was working at Bank of America and was paid $150 a month.
Betty married her husband in 1948 and they were married for 46 years. Betty recalls that her 1st big purchase was when she and her husband bought their home in Concord California.
Today, Betty likes to take walks into town, sit in Rotary Park, have coffee, and meet new friends, but because she now lives in an apartment, she does miss having a home. Betty has two sons and she said they are the proudest moments in her life. Betty has five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
See all 14 2022 Elder Day honorees at https://tinyurl.com/8kx9fc4z.
