Emery, Betty Lea Woldridge Shaklee 

88 05/20/1921 03/18/2010 Betty Lea Woldridge 
Shaklee Emery passed away March 18, 2010, in comfort 
and peace in the loving surroundings of the Raleigh 
Hills Assisted Living complex in Portland. She was 88 
years old. Betty was born at home May 20, 1921, in 
Fay, Okla., to Harley Jackson and Lela Naomi 
(McAlister) Woldridge and was the eighth of 12 
children. She grew up on a farm and attended a country 
school. She met Wallace Winston Shaklee at a school 
district track meet in Watonga, Okla.; they married in 
Reno, Nev., Jan. 25, 1941, and had four children. They 
divorced in 1962. The evening after her 28th birthday 
party, she was in their two-room prairie home with her 
husband, 6-year-old and 3-week-old daughters when a 
tornado overturned the house, blew it apart and her 
husband rescued them from the rubble. In 1953 Betty's 
family moved from Oklahoma to Oregon so Wallace 
could work for The Oregonian Publishing Co. Soon he 
became The Oregonian dealer for McMinnville. Three 
of his children went on to work for the newspaper and 
four grandchildren as well. Betty volunteered with the 
Civil Air Patrol at the Hillsboro Airport, was employed 
as a waitress, then a bank teller in McMinnville and as 
a bookkeeper in Portland. She married Max Emery, a 
railroad engineer for Southern Pacific, in Portland Aug. 
19, 1965. Betty was a homemaker until their divorce in 
1983. She was an amazing, beautiful and fashionable 
lady who taught her children how to have fun and 
enjoy life - after their chores were done! Betty was 
also an outstanding cook who could whip out an 
unforgettable meal while nonchalantly chatting away 
with those hanging out in her kitchen watching the 
culinary miracle taking place before their eyes, then 
enjoying the delightful aromas and, best of all, sitting 
down to enjoy the feast! She was very active until her 
late 70s, joining her children to canoe the Sandy River 
and Fishhawk Lake, ride on their Sunfish sailboats, 
camp, fish, garden and travel. Betty is survived by her 
sisters, Eva Norwine, Suzie Hutton and Harlena "Nene" 
Humphreys; her children: twins, Robert Shaklee and 
Roberta Mills; Teresa Kasner and Denise Hawke; 13 
grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. She was 
pre-ceded in death by both husbands; her parents; four 
brothers; and four sisters. Betty's "greatest generation" 
lived from horse and buggy days through the space 
age. She'll always be remembered as adventurous, 
curious and excited about what she'll discover over 
the next horizon. Services will be held at 1 p.m. 
Thursday, March 25, 2010, in Skyline Memorial 
Gardens, 4101 N.W. Skyline Blvd., Portland.

Published in The Oregonian on March 24, 2010