Betty Lou Largent

Betty Lou Largent, 88, of Sandpoint, ID, formerly of Kennewick and Othello, WA; passed away on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 due to an acute respiratory condition. Betty is buried in Sandpoint. The family plans a good weather memorial celebration of life later in the year. Betty was born September 22, 1927, to Paul and Bessie Loman, in Sheridan, Wyoming where she grew up on a cattle and wheat ranch. She and her brothers rode their horses to a one-room schoolhouse near Spotted Horse, Wyoming. Her freshman year, she lived with her grandparents and rejoiced in being free of overalls and milking cows. In 1943, her family moved to Hope and then Sandpoint, ID; where she graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1945. She was a lifeguard at Sandpoint City Beach, a Job’s Daughter, and a hostess for USO. Following graduation, Betty attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, where she met her future husband, Dean E. Largent, at a mixer their freshman year. After receiving her Baccalaureate degree in Languages, they married and moved to Seattle, where she taught dance at the Arthur Murray Studio, while her husband obtained a degree in dentistry. After Dean’s graduation, they moved to Toppenish where Dean completed his two years of selective service requirement in the US Public Health in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and started their family. He joined a classmate in private practice in Yakima for a year. They were recruited to Othello in 1956, and raised their four children there, adding Dana and Jeff Loman, niece and nephew, to their home life. In retirement, Betty and Dean moved to Kennewick, WA and in 2013 they moved again to Sandpoint, ID where she resided until her death. Betty was always involved with her family, her church and her community. Betty was a devoted and loving wife and mother, and gave more than her share in all family relationships. She was a deacon and elder in the Presbyterian Church and also taught Sunday school. She led Bluebirds and Cub Scout groups and taught Red Cross Swim Lessons. She was a member of AAUW, the Othello Library Board, and active in PTA. Eventually she went to work for 14 years managing her husband’s dental practice. Summer family vacations were often four-day trips in the Suburban to the Oregon or Washington coasts for camping, seafood harvesting, and swimming. Avocations for Betty, other than swimming, were the bridge table and the tennis courts. Vacations in Kauai with almost daily tennis gave her an interest that lasted beyond her playing years. Travels to England, Spain, New Zealand and Australia with friends were pleasurable and educational. Attending Rotary conventions in Washington and British Columbia made for interesting and enjoyable interludes. She is survived by Dean, her husband of sixty-six years; and her children Barbara (George) Ray of Sandpoint, ID, Larry Largent of The Dalles, OR, Donna (Steve) Zeck of Woodinville, WA, and Gail (Bob) Gilliam of Kennewick, WA. She leaves behind seven grandchildren, two great grandchildren, her sister-in-law and friend, Ina Loman; and many nieces and nephews. Her brothers Paul J. and Billy Dee Loman, and her grandson, Nick Gilliam, preceded her in death. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory to the Shriners’ Children’s Hospital at 911 W. 5th Avenue in Spokane would be appreciated.