Betty Jane McLain, a 22-year resident of Wisteria passed away unexpectedly
on Monday June 2nd. Betty recently celebrated her 78th birthday was well known in the area for her warm and generous disposition. She was an artist who specialized in painting with watercolors, woodcarving, pencil sketching, photography, and taxidermy. She was an active member of the Artists’ Guild of Burns Lake. Betty was an active member of the Grassy Plains Catholic Church, contributing quietly and thoughtfully to creative projects and enjoying the company and community of church members through coffee hours and potluck celebrations.
Betty had long enjoyed the great outdoors and spent the largest portion of her life in a rural setting. The natural beauty of those areas truly inspired her work and spirit. For many years she had donated art to Ducks Unlimited Canada and competed in both the US and Canada with her duck decoys. She also has a large mural painted inside the Wisteria Community Center. Betty was a life long learner and was always looking for something new to experience.
Her exploits include fishing on Ootsa Lake in search of lunker rainbow trout, navigating a small single engine aircraft with cousin Howard from Burns Lake to Minneapolis, MN, which took 4 days to complete, and traveling to remote areas in the North West Territories, Alaska, and Hawaii. Last October Betty traveled by riverboat through Eastern Europe with her three kids to visit the birthplace of her parents and to experience what it is like to live in towns and cities where the structures are over 600 years old.
Much of this inspiration was the result of being married for almost 58 years to her husband “Mac”, the man who introduced a city girl to the country. It wasn’t long after they had first met and fallen in love that she shared his passion for hunting, fishing, and simply being out of doors. Betty is also survived by her three children, Kathy (Juneau AK), Mike (Green Bay, WI), and Dan (Houston, TX). Betty also has six grand children: Nick, Shawn, Andy, Phil, Jenny, and Danielle.
We will miss but always remember her infectious smile, wonderful sense of humor, heart felt laugh, and above all, her love and affection.