Elizabeth (Betty) Laviolette was born on October 9, 1914 in Worcester, Mass. She passed away on December 31, 2009 in Tacoma, WA at age 95. Betty grew up in Providence, RI, daughter of Edward and Mary Burns. After high school, Betty attended Rhode Island Hospital School of Nursing then worked as a RN in New York City. In 1941 she joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant serving in New Guinea during the WWII Bismarck Archipelago Campaign. After leaving military service Betty attended the University of Washington, earning her Bachelor's of Science degree in Nursing in 1949. Betty worked for the Seattle Visiting Nurse Service. Later she was a school nurse first in the Renton School District and then in the Seattle School District. Betty was a member of the Rose Turner Guild of Renton. On June 15, 1963 Betty married Donald Joseph Laviolette, MD of Renton, WA. Betty was preceded in death by: husband Don in 1971, stepdaughter Carol (Laviolette) O'Neill in 2003, sister-in-law Sister Mary James Laviolette, OP in 2008, her parents and siblings. Betty is survived by: stepdaughter Mary Laviolette Smith and husband James W. Smith of Tacoma, granddaughters Katharine (Katie) O'Neill of Issaquah and Carley O'Neill of Bellevue, son-in-law Dennis O'Neill of Bellevue, nieces, Sister Jo-Anne Laviolette, DC of Los Angeles, and Marcia Laviolette of San Francisco, nephew, Richard (Dick) Lynch and wife Mary Lynch of Wakefield, RI. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 10001 57th Avenue South, Seattle, on Saturday January 9, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. followed by a reception in the parish hall then burial at Greenwood Memorial Park at 350 Monroe Ave NE, Renton, WA. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Franke Tobey Jones Employee Scholarship fund 5340 North Bristol Tacoma, WA 98407, franketobeyjones.com, or your favorite charity.
Arrangements under the direction of Faull-Stokes Mortuary, Renton, WA.