Betty Margaret Camp

Elizabeth Margaret Camp, lovingly known as Betty passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 3, 2026.  Betty was born January 31, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, on a cold winter night. She was the oldest of three children and the daughter of German-Russian  immigrants. Her mother was a housekeeper, and her father drove trains for the Northwestern Railroad. Betty never forgot her roots and, like her father, could be wonderfully stubborn.

She spoke only German until she was five years old. She grew up surrounded by a large extended family, and there were always stories to tell—of cousins, aunts, uncles, and the colorful lives they led. Betty attended a one-room schoolhouse through eighth grade before heading off to the “big” Arlington Heights Township high school where she graduated from in 1948.  It was there that she would meet the love of her life.

She married William “Bill” Camp Sr. in 1952 after finishing secretarial school, and the newlyweds moved from Chicago to San Francisco so Bill could work as an airline mechanic for United Airlines. Betty worked in insurance for a time before joining the Pacific Maritime Association in the mid-1950s, where she worked as an executive secretary. Her only surviving child, her son Forrest, was born in 1954 after the loss of a baby son.

The years that followed were filled with some of Betty’s happiest memories: time spent on their boat, driving with her husband, Bill and their friends in the MGTC club, and the countless ordinary days that, in retrospect, become the extraordinary ones. San Francisco became home, and Betty considered herself a California gal for the rest of her life.

Betty had an intense love of reading, a love she passed down to her son and especially to her granddaughter. In fact, Betty is the reason her granddaughter became a school librarian.  When Diama was living in Scotland, Betty sent her a book every single week. There was Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley Twins, Brambly Hedge, and whatever else she thought her granddaughter might enjoy. The books arrived from across the sea like small parcels of love. Betty understood something early that Diama would eventually understand too: books are one of the best ways to say I know you. I know what you like. I thought about you today.

Betty loved beautiful, well-made things and belonged to a generation that understood the value of timeless style and excellent quality. She had a sharp eye for detail. She loved a good cup of tea and had an impressive collection of teacups. She loved high tea at the Ritz, high tea anywhere, really, and would probably have argued that there are few occasions that cannot be improved by a proper teapot and a small sandwich.  She loved peonies, fuchsias, roses, and all things pink. She did not, however, care for ruffles.  She also loved her iron—so much so that her granddaughter eventually dubbed her the Iron Lady for the astonishing amount of starch she seemed to go through. She smelled of her favorite rose perfume from Crabtree & Evelyn and could make even an ordinary afternoon feel slightly more civilized.  Betty loved pie. She loved strawberries. She loved beautiful things and good conversation. And she loved people.

During teenage summers, Betty and her granddaughter would sometimes wake up at midnight to watch Falcon Crest together. There was something wonderfully Betty about this: staying up far too late, watching dramatic television, and making an ordinary night into a memory that would last a lifetime.  Betty was, in many ways, the embodiment of the term “coastal grandma,” long before anyone had coined the phrase.

After her beloved husband died at the young age of 60 in 1991, Betty retired two years later and promptly demonstrated that retirement was not going to slow her down. Over the years, she served as president of the Ladies Auxiliary at Mills Hospital, worked backstage with the Half Moon Theatre Group, and became a docent at Filoli, the historic estate she loved.  She loved to entertain and spent many evenings catching up with friends. Betty loved conversation, loved meeting new people, and rarely met a stranger she couldn't engage in conversation. She also had a deep and abiding faith in her Lord and Savior and remained active in her church for as long as she was physically able.  In 2012, at the young age of 82, Betty’s granddaughter moved her to Tulsa, Oklahoma, so she could be closer to family. Betty bought a house and continued raking leaves in her own yard until she was 89, when she moved into independent living. She remained fiercely independent and thoroughly herself.

Her only son, Forrest, died in 2014, leaving a tremendous hole in her heart. But she still had her granddaughter and, in time, four great-grandchildren who became the joy of her later years. She watched them grow, enjoyed their company, and remained very much herself.

Betty lived 96 years. She began life in a one-room schoolhouse in Illinois, became a California gal, built a life in San Francisco, crossed the country again at 82, and was fairly active until the summer before her passing. She loved books, beautiful things, high tea, pie and strawberries, good conversation, her family, and a properly starched shirt. She was independent, particular, funny, faithful, and occasionally stubborn—which is to say, she was Betty.

We are heartbroken to lose her and deeply grateful for the long life she lived. We are especially joyful to imagine her reunion in heaven with her husband, her son, her parents, her siblings, and all the people she had been missing for years.  And we like to think she has already found her frequency.  Betty is survived by her granddaughter, Diama Norris; her grandson-in-law, Matthew Norris; and their four children, Eva, Henry, Sam, and Isaac Norris; and her niece, Deborah Loving of Tucson, Arizona, She is also survived by her daughter-in-law, Bina Camp.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Forrest William “Bill” Camp Sr.; her son, Forrest Camp Jr; her sister, Margaret Loving; her brother, Fred Borgardt; her parents, Henry and Emma (Hilgenberg) Borgardt.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Betty’s memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

A memorial service will be held at Grace Lutheran Church sometime in October. This date is pending.

Betty's family thanks the staff of University Village for providing 6 years of secure and peaceful living. They are forever grateful for the CNAs and the nurses who took care of her in her final days. Those agencies include Compassus Hospice and Oxford Home Health services.