Elizabeth Barbara Mathisen Zoon
April 20, 1924 - May 8, 2016
Elizabeth Barbara Mathisen Zoon was born on April 20, 1924, in Portland. She married Harvey Hillbrand Zoon on Aug. 7, 1941.
Betty, always in cheerful continual motion, devoted her life to taking care of her husband, children and grandchildren. Family and friends could drop in on her perpetually tidy home and be greeted by a pot of coffee, a plate of cookies, and an empathetic ear. Betty cooked, baked, gardened, canned, sewed, helped with the family business, and lovingly cared for her daughter, JoAnn, while also tending the rotating menagerie of kids, neighborhood kids, grandchildren, and the wide variety of birds, reptiles, and animals constantly flowing in and out of her home. The smooth consistency of her buttercream frosting will never be forgotten or matched.
She liked to play the organ at church on Sunday mornings; practicing her weekly offertory selection late on Saturday nights after all her work was done.
Betty loved to travel, documenting her adventures in journals, photographs, and films, and she evolved into an enthusiastic hunter and deep sea fisherman during her retirement years.
Betty has joined her husband, Harvey; son Don; and daughters Nina and JoAnn.
She is survived by her sons and their wives, Harvey Wallace and Vicki, and Dale and Stacey; daughter Marilyn and husband Steve; eight grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and seven great- great-grandchildren.
A graveside service is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday, May 14, at West Lawn Memorial Park in Eugene.