Betty Buehler January 29, 1923 - March 14, 2011

Betty Buehler of Sisters, Oregon, passed away on March 14, 2011. She died peacefully in her sleep. Betty was born Mary Elizabeth Lowe in Rochester, New York, on January 29, 1923.

The Great Depression both revealed and forged her cheerful spirit. Among other things, she sold the apple and peach pies her mother baked to supplement the family income. After graduating from high school, Betty moved to New York City to attend the Traphagen School of Design. One of her favorite projects was to design and sew an outfit in one evening and then "parade" down 5th Avenue the next day with her roommates, also design students.

Upon graduating she worked for a small firm in Manhattan where she sewed dresses for the Duchess of Windsor. One Saturday afternoon during World War II, walking down 42nd Street, Betty bumped into an old Rochester friend, Karl Buehler, a Merchant Marine on leave from the campaign in the Atlantic. They began a correspondence while he was overseas.

Returning to Rochester, she was a sewing instructor for Singer Sewing Machine. When the war ended, Betty and Karl married in May of 1946. The Buehlers spent their first years of married life in Lima, New York. Betty was highly skilled in her chosen profession of homemaker. Besides successfully raising four children and all that entailed, she played many roles: active member of the PTA, dressmaker, design and sewing instructor of adult education, and den mother for the Cub Scouts. Summers were spent at the family cabin on Keuka Lake, lifeguarding her brood and sailing with Karl on the "Bonnie Kay" that she had bought him with her sewing instructor savings.

In 1960, the Buehlers moved "out west" when Karl was transferred to Birds Eye food products in Walla Walla, Washington. Although Betty loved the grandeur of the West, for her the move, as for many pioneer women of the nineteenth century, entailed sacrifice. She missed the East, her parents, and extended family. She felt uprooted. Her solution? She joined the Newcomers Club in Walla Walla and soon became Hospitality Chairperson. The role was a natural one for her because of both her vivacity and compassionate desire to reach out to other newcomers. In 1963, the Newcomers group nominated Betty as Mother of the Year, a testament to her devotion and talent as both mother and homemaker.

From Walla Walla, life's choices saw the Buehlers move to Kellogg, Idaho and then in 1965 to the Willamette Valley, Oregon, where Karl worked as refrigeration systems engineer for several companies.

But Central Oregon beckoned. Most winter weekends were spent skiing Mount Bachelor or Hoodoo. In 1971, having fallen in love with Central Oregon, Betty and Karl decided to build their home in the high desert region just south of Sisters. Photographs of that time show Betty nailing shingles on the roof with the Three Sisters in the background. They became fulltime residents of "Juniper Flats" in the mid-'70s.

She loved nature and the wilderness. The Buehlers enjoyed cross-country skiing, ice skating, hiking, camping, swimming and canoe-sailing on Suttle and Three Creek Lakes.

After a disabling car accident in 1977, Betty became known to her family as "Spunky." Her courage, quiet determination, faith, cheerful attitude, and wry sense of humor was inspiring; she did not dwell on misfortunes, and always saw the positive side. She and Karl were active in the Senior Luncheon program in Sisters and enjoyed many good friendships. One of Betty's favorite events was the annual Halloween party, for which she invariably wore a costume of her own making.

Betty was always adventurous, and with her husband Karl traveled to many foreign countries with the International Executive Service Corps after his retirement. Their destinations included Germany, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guatemala, and Zimbabwe, Africa. In Africa she and Karl traveled into the bush for a week where she said monkeys jumped on the roof of their hut all night, keeping her awake.

Although she loved travel, Betty was always glad to return to their home, Juniper Flats.

Karl, her beloved husband of 63 years, died in 2009. She is survived by her children Bonnie Rosecliffe, Karl Buehler, Gary Buehler, and Mari Walz as well as seven grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. In accordance with her wishes, Betty's ashes will be scattered beneath the mighty pine trees of Central Oregon during a family ceremony.

A proverb says that "when an old person dies, a library burns to the ground." Betty Buehler will be remembered for her wisdom and much more - love, talent, and, above all, spirit. Spunky - forever.