Elizabeth "Betty" Boven

Elizabeth "Betty" Boven built her life around hard work, her family and her faith in the Lord. She showed her love through her endless devotion to her family and tried to bring the best out of each of her loved ones, leading them by example. Through her warmth and generosity, Betty exemplified all the wonderful things a mother, grandmother and great grandmother should be.

The year 1919 was a triumphant year for the United States. As the Allies and Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, the world moved closer to terminating World War I. Although the U.S. citizens celebrated the signing of the Treaty, no champagne corks were popped as America adopted the 18th Amendment, prohibiting alcohol. Though there was certainly a lot of excitement in that year, for Homer and Mary (Dewindt) DeYoung of Kalamazoo, Michigan, the biggest news of the year was the birth of their daughter, Elizabeth, on February 1, 1919, at Borgess Hospital.

Betty, as she was called, and her younger brother, Edward J., were lovingly raised in their traditional Catholic home on John Street in Kalamazoo. The family attended mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church and the children both received their education in St. Augustine's Catholic Schools. Betty was a good student, but found her Latin studies to be especially difficult because she had to learn masses in this language as well. Growing up, Betty's parents were always very protective of their children, letting them only play outside in their small yard and Betty had to make the lengthy walk to mass every morning, come rain, snow or the flu.

As a teenager, Betty was allowed to go to the movies with her girlfriends, which was always so much fun. One day while walking with a girlfriend, Betty observed a fine-looking young man leaning against his car. As fate would have it, a gust of wind stirred up just then and took Betty's hat, which the young man quickly retrieved for her. And this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between Betty and Richard C. Boven. Because of her parents' strictness, the young couple had to sneak around to date, but soon learned they worked at the same place, Sutherlands, and they could see each other there too. A romance quickly blossomed and after dating for a while, Betty and Richard decided to elope. They kept their marriage a secret for several months, because they knew Betty's parents wouldn't approve and she would also lose her job at Sutherlands, since you couldn't work there if you were married. Betty even lived at home with her parents during this time. The couple finally told their families about their nuptials and, as expected, Betty lost her job at Sutherlands.

Betty and Richard made their first home together in an apartment until they built a home on Woodward Avenue in Kalamazoo. Richard continued to work at Sutherlands, while Betty took a job at the 5 & Dime store, which she held for about two years. During this time, Betty and Richard had tried without success to start a family of their own, and endured the hurt of several miscarriages. In 1946, though, the couple fulfilled their dream of a family with the adoption of their son, Paul, and three years later, their daughter, Lavina. Like her own parents, Betty tended to be over protective of her children while they were growing up, something her son Paul said he was later glad of.

It wasn't long before Betty and Richard moved their family to a celery farm on the north side of Westnedge, where they opened the first greenhouse on this side of town. Richard found farming was full-time work and left Sutherlands to do so. After some time, they sold the Westnedge farm and moved to a larger farm in Mattawan just off of Red Arrow Highway called Oaklawn Farm. Here they had orchards, vineyards and lots of vegetable fields to tend to, with much of their bounty sold at their produce stand - Boven's Produce, which was very well known around the area. Betty and Richard loved farm life, working tirelessly side by side in the fields, and though some squabbling could be heard every now and then - they were the happiest ever! In addition to the busyness of farming, they also mined railroad ties on the side for extra money. In the early 1950s, the couple decided to retire from farming and traded Oaklawn Farm for a house on Douglas Avenue. However, idle retirement life didn't agree with Betty and Richard and they soon bought another farm, where they once again took to the fields, growing produce and selling them at a roadside stand in summer and fall. Sadly, Betty's beloved partner and husband, Richard, died about five years ago.

Betty's happiest moments always involved the time she spent with her family. She simply adored her grandchildren and great grandchildren and poured the same amount of love into these relationships as she did with her own children. Betty was more of a mother figure than a grandmother to her granddaughter, Lisa, who she raised. Lisa fondly remembered as a child how her grandmother would read to her and patiently taught her to care for the plants in the greenhouse. Her great grandchildren also looked forward to coming to Granny's house after school each day. They knew when they got off the bus Granny would have a yummy snack waiting for them, always prepared with love. Aside from caring for her family, Betty liked cooking, particularly goulash and sugar coated peach pie, watching some of her favorite shows on TV, including Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Lawrence Welk and soap operas. A devout Catholic, Betty attended mass at her church, St. John Bosco Catholic Church in Mattawan, and always found great reverence in reading her Bible.

Betty Boven loved to be surrounded by her family, and loved spending her time being a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother to the people who brought her life great joy. She now sits in heaven's garden watching over her family, who will missed her dearly.

Elizabeth "Betty" Boven, age 86 of Mattawan, MI, died April 7, 2006, at Lakeview Continuing Care in Lawton. Friends may spend time with the Boven Family on Tuesday, April 18, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. at St. John Bosco Catholic Church in Mattawan, where a Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Interment at Maple Grove Cemetery. Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Richard Boven, and brother, Edward DeYoung. She is survived by her two children; Paul (Linda) Boven of Portage, and Janet (Charles) Mazam of Vicksburg; three grandchildren: Lisa (Dee) DeGoede of Mattawan, Marc (Angel) Boven of Mattawan, Dionne (Ron) Walsh of Columbia, TN; and eleven great grandchildren. Please visit Betty's personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory, order flowers or make a memorial contribution to the Boven Family. Arrangements by Life Story Funeral Home, Betzler & Thompson, Paw Paw, 657-3870.