Sister of the Holy Names Elizabeth (Betty) Bentler died the evening of March 30, 2020, at South Hill Village, Spokane, Washington.  Sister Betty was born August 6, 1929, in Yakima, Washington, and celebrated 70 years of religious profession.  Born to Aloysius X. Bentler and Ida Skibbe Bentler, Sister Betty was the seventh of the eleven children welcomed into their home.  Betty was baptized, received her first communion and was confirmed at St. Paul's Church, Yakima.  Betty's early years of education began in Yakima, continued in Snohomish, and was completed with her graduation from Immaculate Conception High School (Seattle) with the class of 1947.   She entered the novitiate of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary at Marylhurst, Oregon in January 1948 and pronounced her perpetual vows on August 5, 1954.

Sister Betty was an ardent student who over her long career as an educator enjoyed success in several fields.  She began her career as a music teacher before she earned a BA in Education with an emphasis in Music from Fort Wright College, Spokane.  She advanced her education with a Masters in Educational Media for Library from Central Washington University, Ellensburg.   Between the years 1984 and 1987, Sister Betty served as Pastoral Associate at St. Peter's Mission, Deming.  An experience and time of rural ministry that brought into focus Sister Betty's many gifts.  Sister Betty retired from formal teaching in 2000, and began a period of service as Volunteer Ministry and Regional Associate Coordinator in the Everett area.  For 32 of the 50 years Sister Betty was in active ministry, she did so as music teacher, classroom teacher or librarian serving in parish schools in which Sisters of the Holy Names ministered in Portland and St. Helens, Oregon and in Pomeroy, Seattle, Spokane, Edmonds, Everett, Bellevue and Auburn, Washington.  In time, Sister Betty moved to the Convent of the Holy Names in Spokane and moved to South Hill Village, an assisted living facility, in 2014 when the Convent of the Holy Names on Fort George Wright Drive closed.

Sister Betty is preceded in death by her parents, Aloysius and Ida Bentler, her brothers Donald, Frederick, Richard, Kenneth, James, and Aloysius (Mickey) Bentler, and her sister Dorothy who died at age eleven.  Sister Betty is survived by her siblings: Patricia Clemen, Bellevue; Ida C. Moffat, Des Moines; and Theodore (Tom) Bentler, Seattle.  She was blessed with and will be remembered by her many nieces and nephews and their families.  In addition, Sister Betty is survived by her religious community of Sisters and Affiliates and the many families in the communities where she faithfully lived and served during her 90 years of life.

A Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated in her honor, in the presence of her ashes, at a future date.  Memorial gifts may be made to the Sisters of the Holy Names Retirement Fund, 5915 S Regal St #308, Spokane, WA 99223.