Betty Ann Preston Brown, 81, died in an automobile accident, Friday, Nov. 24, 2006, in Salton City, Calif.

Betty was born April 3, 1925, in Chevy Chase, Md., to John and Harriet Elizabeth (Orem) Preston.

As a young girl, she traveled with her family by ship through the Panama Canal to Portland, Ore., where she attended grade school. When her family moved to Seattle, she attended Roosevelt High School, graduating in 1943.

Betty attended the University of Washington, where she was a speech major and a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. She and her future husband were involved in student activities at the University Presbyterian Church.

On Dec. 20, 1947, Betty married Robert Benton Brown, at the University Baptist Church in Seattle.

Betty and her husband had five children. Many summers and two school years were spent at their Sunlight Beach cabin on Whidbey Island.

In 1963, they moved to a ranch in Kent. The Browns and their children continued to spend vacations on Whidbey, and have many lifelong friends on the island.

After their children were grown, Betty and Bob moved from Kent to La Canada, Calif., then returned to the Northwest, living in Bellevue and on Mercer Island. While living on Mercer Island, Betty worked as a licensed massage practitioner at the Jewish Community Center there.

Betty and Bob spent their winters in Borrego Springs, Calif., for 20 years. The Browns were members of the de Anza Country Club, and enjoyed the many activities offered by the club.

Betty was known for her vibrant, resilient spirit, her love for entertaining and socializing, and her dedication to fitness and a healthful lifestyle. Betty’s hobbies included reading, ceramics, yoga, weightlifting and cooking with her husband, Bob.

For the past six years, the Browns spent the summer months in Hoquiam, living next to their daughter, Gail, and son-in-law, John Quigg.

She cherished her role as a mother, both to her own children and their many friends, some of whom, as needed, also lived with the Browns.

Betty is survived by her husband of 59 years, Robert Brown; her sister, Lois (Bob) Hirtler; four children: Karen Brown, Gail (John) Quigg, Robert (Marci) Brown and Russell (Jan Davis) Brown; her grandchildren Preston Clark, Bett Simpson, Jack Quigg, Annie Brown, GiGi Brown, Alesha Brown and Davis Brown; and her sister-in-law, Jean (Britt) Smith. She was preceded in death by her son, David, in 1976.

Her family acknowledges the care of the Borrego Medical Center staff, her physician, Dr. Jamie Paris, her vascular surgeon, Dr. Anibal Gauto, and his wife, Cheryl Gauto, and their friends John and Gail Swihart.

Funeral services in Borrego Springs will be delayed until her husband, Bob, who was also in the accident with her, has recovered, and will be announced at a later date.

The family requests that memorials be sent to St. Mary School, 518 North H, Aberdeen, WA 98520.