BETTY DOREEN ANDERSON

Betty Doreen Anderson was born on September 20th, 1950 in Dryden, Ontario, to parents Harry and Edna Anderson and older siblings Linda and Grant. Her siblings described her as cute, quiet, and shy, with a stubborn streak, citing how she would hold her breath until red in the face if her brother teased her. She and her sister shared a bed and slept head to foot so they could make a game of kicking each other all night. At school she excelled from the start, escaping into books, and eventually acting out parts of Shakespeare plays with her best friend Carol for their youth group audience. In her teens she was known for her shiny brown hair, and the good-natured joke amongst her friends was “We better invite Betty early because she’ll have to wash her hair.” She learned to sew on her mom’s old treadle sewing machine and made her own stylish looks. Her love of the natural world was seeded growing up on the Western boreal shield where she enjoyed sledding, skating, going to the beach, and zipping around on her bike with a friend riding on the back. Her childhood friends remember her as smart, kind, honest, and giving. 

After graduating early from highschool, she set off at 17 years old for the big city of Winnipeg to attend University of Manitoba where she earned her Bachelors of Education 5 years later. As a young teacher in her 20s she worked in Swan River teaching junior high English and volunteered at the Thunderhill Ski Club. A few years later, she moved back to Winnipeg to take courses to qualify as a resource teacher and got a job in St. Vital School Division. Her love of nature and movement continued as she biked, walked, skied, and took adult swim lessons. Her apartments were festooned with the most beautiful plants.

In 1980, she met fellow Canadian teacher Dal Warkentin on a working trip in Guyana and bonded over a shared love of travel and education. Dal always said he admired that she was the only Canadian teacher on the trip who wasn’t afraid to go out walking at night. After teaching abroad together in Nigeria for some years they returned to Winnipeg, and married in 1984. They welcomed their first daughter, Sigrid, the following year, and their younger daughter Sara in 1987. Betty always said she loved all her children equally, and in this group she included the family’s many pets throughout the years (Beethoven, Tiger, Mushroom, Daisy, Rafiki and Malaika, Minou, Teddy, Sua, Sapphy, Rachel, Lola, and Gypsy). Betty and Dal raised their daughters (and pets) together first in Winnipeg, then spurred by their love of adventure, they left Canada again in 1990 to work and live together in Nairobi, Kenya; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and San Jose, Costa Rica, before returning to Winnipeg again in 2003. 

Betty loved her daughters ferociously, and they felt it, whether she was conducting long correspondences with them as the tooth fairy, reading them magical stories to ignite the imagination, crafting their costumes for school plays, or drilling into them through repetition that they were smart and strong enough to do anything. She was queen of the pets, and whoever adopted an animal in the family knew that pet would eventually become most devoted to Betty. Children and animals gravitated to her. Not satisfied with nurturing only children and animals, she also cultivated the most beautiful houseplants and gardens wherever she lived. As the family traveled, she approached the flora and fauna of each new place they lived with awe, photographing and soaking it all in as inspiration for her own creations. 

While raising her kids with Dal, she continuously pursued excellence in her career. Betty was an incredible teacher and taught elementary, middle, and high school over her career. She specialized in resource education, preferring to work with students whose learning needs weren’t met in the general classroom. She earned her Master’s degree in Special Education in 1985 with an infant child in tow, a fact of which she was justifiably very proud. Her colleagues over the years attest to her professionalism, patience, and creativity when working with young people when others had thrown their hands up in frustration. She taught in many schools over the years, in five different countries, and never seemed to lose the satisfaction in a job well done.

After a long day of teaching, she was likely to be found helping her panicked daughters finish some kind of paper mache school project or tutoring them in math (a subject in which they did not inherit her prowess). She would then go on working into the wee hours on things like new lesson plans and studying the latest approaches to ADHD. She slept little, worked hard, and we can only surmise was fueled entirely by coffee, secret cookies, and passion for what she did.

Betty retired from teaching early in 2006 after struggling since her mid-30s with progressive major hearing loss. She received a cochlear implant in 2007 and became an advocate with Canadian Hard of Hearing Association (CHHA), organizing for greater access to this same procedure for adult Manitobans. In 2009, she and Dal moved to Winnipeg Beach to enjoy a year-round cottage lifestyle of strolls on the shore and crossword puzzles. Ever a lifelong learner, she studied landscape architecture through University of Guelph and designed some beautiful gardens for friends and neighbors. In 2016, they came back to the city once more to live at Co-op Canadien where they were active in the running and governance of the co-op. Her long-time beloved friends Vicki and Yvette kept her busy with cross-country skiing, volunteering with local charities, and coffee dates.

Sadly, Betty was diagnosed officially with Alzheimers in 2017, and her health declined progressively in the years since. For support with her care needs, she eventually lived at Riverwood Square, and finally at Lions Manor, where she was an avid walker, hand-holder, and only occasionally brawled with other residents. Her family will be eternally grateful for the care she received when they were not able to be there. She found peace on January 13, 2025 while her loved ones stood vigil. Betty was predeceased by her husband Dal Warkentin, who passed in May 2024. Dal spoke often of his intention to outlive his wife in order to help his daughters through the difficult times he knew would come, and we know that he tried his very best to keep that promise. 

While we have been saying goodbye to Betty for many years because of this horrible disease, we hope to remember her in all her glory--as uniquely funny and quirky, intelligent and curious, quiet but feisty, equal opportunity lover of vegetables and sweets, reader, gardener, learner, teacher, carer, full of vitality and strength. We hope you will remember her that way too. 

A celebration of Betty’s life will be held at 2:00pm on Tuesday February 4th at the First Unitarian Universalist Church (603 Wellington Ave). 

Her daughters ask that in lieu of flowers or gifts, donations be sent to Alzheimer’s Society of Manitoba in hopes that one day no family will have to experience this particular sort of loss. 

Betty’s family kindly requests that all of her friends and relatives take a few minutes to honour her memory by sharing photos, memories, and stories, using the comment section on this page.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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