Betty Fairburn Carlberg
Sept. 20, 1924 — July 16, 2012
Betty Fairburn Carlberg was born in Seattle, Wash. on Sept. 20, 1924, where she lived until retiring to San Juan Island in 1979.
She was a graduate of the University of Washington, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta and where she met her husband, Edward, at the U.W. in 1942.
During her senior year at the U.W. she left school while Ed was serving in the Navy in the South Pacific during WWII, completing her degree in sociology two years later. For those two years she was employed as a secretary for the vice president of Human Resources at Boeing.
Betty and Ed were married in Seattle in January, 1946. While Ed was completing his engineering degrees at the U.W., she worked as secretary for the dean of the U.W. Law School.
While living in Seattle, Betty was active in Children’s Hospital Auxiliary and the Seattle-King County Chapter of American Red Cross, where she served as a volunteer instructor in water safety, small craft safety, first aid and CPR, teaching both adults and children in the Seattle, Renton and Kent school districts. She was particularly proud of having the privilege of teaching hundreds of children and adults swimming and lifesaving skills.
She also became an accomplished scuba diver. She was active as a Camp Fire Girls’ leader for 12 years and served on the Seattle-King County board of that organization.
After moving to San Juan Island, Betty served as a board member of Inter Island Medical Center, the Inter Island Healthcare Foundation, the Medical Center Guild, American Association of University Women, Women’s Study Club, and as a charter commissioner for the San Juan Island Park & Recreation District. She was also a member of the San Juan Island Yacht Club and a past president of its First Mates. She was a member of the Skagit Valley College Advisory Committee, the SJI Red Cross Disaster Team and a board member of Friends of the San Juan Island Library.
She and Ed enjoyed many exotic vacations to tropical locations such as Grand Cayman, Tahiti, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, and Hawaii, plus the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Betty passed away July 16, 2012, in Edmonds, after an 8-year battle with a progressive neurological disorder, similar to ALS.
Surviving family members include her husband of 66-and-a-half years, Edward; daughter, Dr. Karen A. Carlberg of EWU, Spokane; son and daughter-in-law, Robert G. Carlberg and Debra A. Samuelson, and one granddaughter, Sören S. Carlberg, of Edmonds.
She was preceded in death by her daughter, Dr. Kristen Carlberg, and her parents Orville and Kathleen Fairburn. The family requests that remembrances be sent in her name to the San Juan Preservation Trust, P.O. Box 327, Lopez Island, WA 98261. Private services and interment will be at the Carlberg Mausoleum in Wenatchee.
— Family of Betty Carlberg
