Betty Ann Maggard

Betty Maggard passed away at the age of 87 on June 13, 2023, surrounded by her loved ones. 

She was born into the Rhoades family on March 19, 1936, in Missouri, or “Missourah” as she would say it. In the late 1940s, the Rhoades family left the Midwest in a truck and trailer in search of better air for her sister with asthma. 

It was in Selah, Washington, that Betty met Bill Maggard. After a whirlwind courtship, she took his last name on September 3, 1955. They started their family in the Yakima area, making a home for two children, Curt and Dana, who would be her greatest pride and joy. 

The family traveled for work, spending time in Littleton, Colorado; Rupert, Idaho; and Bozeman, Montana, before settling down near family in Post Falls, Idaho, in the 1970s. Betty mostly stayed at home during her children’s younger years but resumed her secretarial work when she earned her certificate of office occupations from North Idaho College in 1980. She finished her career at a longtime local business, Northwest Machine, where she cautioned her daughter against seeing one of the machinists. Turns out, together they would give her three granddaughters to love. 

Outside of work, Betty loved to fish and ride ATVs. At home she favored baking, canning fruits, and gardening vegetables and roses. You could also often find her in a chair reading a novel, sometimes even with her eyes closed in her later years. 

Her husband will remember nearly 68 years of companionship and many trips in the motorhome. Her children will remember how she picked fruit to afford their Christmas gifts or how she sewed teeny tiny clothes for their dolls. Her granddaughters will remember her lemon meringue pie, buying books together at thrift stores and afternoon ice cream while watching John Wayne movies in the summer. 

Betty is survived by her three brothers, her husband, two children, three granddaughters and two great granddaughters. To all those who want to celebrate her life, they are invited to her funeral on June 21 at 2 p.m. at the English Funeral Home at 1700 North Spokane Street in Post Falls.