Obituary: Betty Jane Perry

Betty Jane (Armstrong) Perry, Great Falls, Mont., passed away on the morning of July 1, 2020 at the age of 88. She was born Nov. 3, 1931, an only child to Doris Armstrong, at the family homestead east of Brady, Mont., the same home in which her mother was born & raised.

As a child, Betty was raised by her grandparents, Laura and T.P. Armstrong, along with numerous aunts and uncles, as Doris had to travel to where she could find work. She graduated as valedictorian of her class at Brady High School before moving to Great Falls to live with her mother. There she met the love of her life, "a tall, dark and handsome" young soldier named Joe at a dance. (Joe had been stationed in Hawaii with the military and transferred to MAFB) They married in November of 1949. While living in Great Falls, Joe worked at the Anaconda Smelter and Betty at Montgomery Wards.

Joe & Betty soon moved to Brady and raised a family of three children: Joe(Debby)Perry of Brady, Toni (Richard) Martin, Great Falls & Jim (Carmen), Great Falls.

Joe worked at the Equity Co-op. Betty worked at Pondera Drug and then at the Clerk and Recorder's office in Conrad before they retired and moved to their home in Lincoln, Mont. They lived happily there for the next 20 years. "It was some of the best years of our life" she always said. She enjoyed having her children & grandchildren visiting, feeding the animals (especially hummingbirds), taking care of her flower gardens, cooking, working on her arts and crafts, and socializing with their many friends.

They moved to Great Falls in 2008 and then to Highgate Senior Living in 2014.

Joe & Betty recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. At a dinner honoring them, they were thrilled to see all seven of their grandchildren, as well as their seven great-grandchildren! As Betty looked around the room at their family, she smiled, looked at Joe and exclaimed "look what we've done"!

Betty is survived by her husband of 70 years, her three children, seven grandchildren, Ryan (Jessie) Perry, Brianna (Jesse) Johnson, Olivia (Robert) Martin, Valerie (Joe) Meier, Laura (Jared) Buus, Kelsey (Taylor) Martin, Paul Martin and seven great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her mother, Doris, her favorite uncle Thurman, and her cousin "who was just like a sister", Lilly (Severson) Wood.

We were all blessed to have a wife, mother & grandmother like you. Your love, smile, humorous wit and thoughtful ways will be forever with us.

No services are planned at this time.