Betty Joanna Sivils

Betty Joanna Sivils

      5/23/1932 – 1/24/2021

Mother…..

Joanna, as she was known to all who knew her, was born to Stella & Earl Ellington on May 23, 1932 in Florence, Missouri.  She was the youngest of 7 children, she had 5 older sisters and an older brother.   Mom married our father, Delbert L. Sivils on January 14, 1951 at the age of 18-1/2.   Our father did well in choosing our mother, Betty Joanna.    They settled in the Kansas City, Kansas area, but then opportunities of a better job opened up for our father in California, and they moved to California in 1958 and remained there until they both passed.

Mom and Dad had 5 children:  Karen (Rod) Holton, Brad Sivils, Tim (Lisa) Sivils, Laurie (Jay) Foote and Jodi (David) Willis.  From her children she was graced with 8 grandchildren: Scott, Ryan, Kevin, Heather, Taylor, Anna, Aron and Katelyn.  She also was great~grandmother to:  Wyatt, Luke, McKenna, Kaylee and Avery.  She loved all of us dearly.

She did all the things a mother is born to do; supposed to do.  She bore her children, cared for us and protected us. She instilled in us good values and principles. She always wanted the best for us. And was always there for all of us should we stumble or fall. She would lift us up to our feet and set us back on the right course.  Mother was always gracious, friendly and kind to everyone she met and knew. She was vibrant and always full of the joy of life. One thing her children learned from her (as well as our father), was to greet everyone we met with a warm, welcoming smile. She was open with everyone she met and everyone loved her.

Mother suffered from a debilitating disease, Parkinson’s. With no cure in site, it was destroying her brain. It has been terrible watching this beautiful, fun and vibrant woman become old, frail and disconnected from reality with Parkinson’s related hallucinations and dementia. Things with her were at times difficult. But we loved her nonetheless. We did all we could capably do to care for her as she had cared for us.  Mother didn’t deserve this horrible disease. Mother didn’t deserve to grow old, frail and die.

Perhaps the most consequential word in any language. Whether human or any of the animal kingdom, mothers conceive, carry and develop offspring, give birth, feed, care for, protect, teach and guide their children. No matter the species, race, creed, religion or geographic location, mothers are the necessary constant of life on Earth.  Without mothers, there is no life. There is no family. There is no civilization. There is no society.

Our mother was all this and more. She was the foundation and the cornerstone of our family and our individual lives. We would be nothing without our mother.

No one lives forever. But if anyone were deserving of living forever, it was Betty Joanna Sivils. We were lucky to have her as….

Our mother.

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