Betty Jean (Froehlich) Derita

Betty Jean DeRita, 89 of Darby, passed away Tuesday, December 14, 2021 at her home.

Betty Jean was born in the Bitterroot valley in 1932 the daughter of the late Pete and Martha May Hixson Froehlich.  She lived on the West Fork in her early years. Her dad, Pete Froehlich worked in the woods and was a champion crosscut sawyer. She lived in simple log cabins with no running water, waxed paper windows, and outdoor outhouses when a trip to town was a two-day adventure.

On the road to town, it was not uncommon for them to stop and have a roadside chat with Ranger Sam Billings. She learned to hunt and fish and was a crack shot with a rifle.

She remembered hearing the Roosevelt radio speech on her Uncle Jimmie's lap after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She went to schools throughout the Bitterroot including the Overwitch School House on the West fork, Hamilton Schools and Corvallis. At 16, she was living on her own, held a job working as candy striper at Saint Patrick's Hospital, while going to Hellgate High School and taking care of her younger sister Fran.

By the time she was 20 she was married, had her first child and had another on the way. Life and family took her to many places in the west from Arizona, to Oregon, to Idaho and California but she loved the Bittterroot and brought her family back to the old Whitney Place on the West fork in 1969 where the kids attended Darby Schools.

She was great homemaker and loved to cook good food. The coffee pot was always on for guests, a pot of sourdough was usually ready to make pancakes, ready to be topped with homemade jams and syrups made from Choke Cherries, Huckleberries or whatever fruit was in season. The seats at the kitchen table were often filled by old timers of the West Fork, including Ray Terrel, Del and Fawn Pickens, Lorn and Edith Kraft, Waylen Heaton, Uncle Francis Hixson, and many others who told may tales about their adventures on the West Fork and in the Selway including stories about old High Smith who lived up at Alta on Hughes Creek and tales of their adventures in search of Magruder’s gold.

She loved to craft, sew and cook. She loved to help people. She worked in Head Start, drove a school bus and did remodeling and restoration work as well. She had a keen eye for color. She was a woman of high principles. Never smoked, drank only occasionally and in moderation. She was a woman of Simple Faith with a strong love of God. During her early later years, she lived in Sheridan Wyoming where she was an active member of the First United Methodist Church. She used her decorative eye to maintain the alter through the annual liturgical cycle.

Her life was never easy, she overcame many personal challenges but through everything she remained a

corner stone of strength, courage, and perseverance to the end of her life. Leading by example to all.

She was preceded in death by her Parents; brothers, Jack, Little Lorn, Donnie, Gary Pete; sisters, Fran and Roberta; her husbands, John, Don, and Tony; her daughter Carlie.

She is survived by her sister Loraine and her sons, Elijah John, Michael Allen, Edward Dale and Donald Lee; 10 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, and two more on the way.

She will be remembered and missed by many.

A visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until service time Friday, Dec 17, 2021 at the Conner Wesleyan Church.  The Funeral service will start at 12:00 noon with interment following at Lone Pine Cemetery in Darby.