Betty Jean Harman

Betty Jean Harman (also known as Elizabeth Jean Summer) left us on July 14, 2023 in Portland, Oregon at the age of 83. Born on July 7,1940 to Savilla Laura Harman (nee. Craven) and Glen Harold Harman, she lived in Siletz, Oregon from birth until nine years of age, and until age19 in nearby Toledo. To her five children and to others as well, Betty was generous and full of love. Taking the time to read and talk to us and answer all our questions, she would rather give her children anything she had than keep it for herself. Everyone who knew Betty described her as intelligent. She read books every day until a stroke made reading more difficult. She remembered many details from throughout her life that others had forgotten. She loved to think about the reasons for things, and even though her reasoning didn’t always follow common logic, she kept her mind sharp doing word searches and games, crosswords, and Sudoku. In her later years, she didn’t sleep well at night. When asked what she thought about when she couldn’t sleep, she replied “Well, I think about and try to remember all the Barbara’s I’ve known in my life, and then I think of all the Ann’s I’ve known…” Her friends at the home she lived in for the last year of her life said that she was one of the only people that they could have real conversations with. She told stories and jokes and knew so much about so many topics. Even though she could be social and charming, she never seemed to mind being alone and said that she often preferred her own company. Her mind was never still or bored. Betty dealt with adversity, poverty, grief, and health issues but always made the best of things as they were. She did everything in her own way, even if it was a hard way. Always independent, she rarely asked for help and was likely to walk several miles rather than ask someone else for a ride. She was mostly cheerful and always optimistic. The smallest things could make her happy: a card from a loved one, a new fact she discovered in a book, or one of her plants growing and blooming. As a believer in humanity and rights, she knew a lot about politics and volunteered and went to rallies during election seasons. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers (Jim and Tom), and by her son Bobby. Her beautiful spirit will always be cherished, remembered and lived in the hearts of her surviving loved ones: son and daughter-in-law Kirk and Michelle Tolstrup of Oregon City, and daughters and sons-in-law Kristina (Kristi) and Mat Kleyne of Milwaukie, and Rebecca (Becki) and Mike Kaufmann of Reedsport, and daughter Lauralee (Amy) Summer of Boston, Massachusetts, her sister Jane Miller of Astoria, as well as her nine grandchildren and seven great-grand children, her two nieces and three nephews and several friends. A graveside service at Eureka Cemetery in Newport, Oregon will be held at 3 p.m., Saturday, July 22, 2023, with a celebration of life afterward at Don and Ann Davis Park, also in Newport, Oregon. You may contact Cornwell Funeral Home at (503) 682-1177 for more information if needed. She enjoyed traveling and lived many places in her life, including in California and Arizona, and Oregon City and Astoria in Oregon, and for many years in Quincy, Massachusetts just outside of Boston. Her favorite pursuits for many years were homemaking, cooking, and sewing. She also had a passion for investigating genealogy and loved to draw and paint people, scenery, and flowers. Her children were her treasure, nature her solace, and reading, walking, and gardening her pleasure.

Betty Jean Harman

July 7, 1940 - July 14, 2023