Charlotte (Betty) Juvan, 85, passed away on Tuesday, June 16, at home of natural causes. She was born on Nov. 8, 1934, in Kemmerer, to John Swainston Gilchrist and Elizabeth Melville Sneddon. She was the youngest of their three children and the only daughter. Betty was born of goodly parents whom she loved, admired and served. Mom always spoke with great fondness of her years growing up in Kemmerer and always loved to return to visit her childhood home.
Mom was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and loved serving in the primary and as a visiting teacher. We were sealed as a family in the Billings, Montana, Temple on Sept. 28, 2001.
Betty graduated from Kemmerer High School. She worked at the local movie theater and later as a telephone operator. She married Eddie Juvan on Sept. 4, 1954, at the home of her parents. Mom and Dad made their first home in Pinedale, where Dad worked as a geologist for the soil conservation service. They later moved to Billings, Montana, and finally to Bozeman, Montana, where they built their home and their lives together.
Many wonderful memories were created in our home on Bridger Drive. We grew up under the big Montana sky, with a wheat field in front of our house and a wheat field in the back.
We grew up with a mother who was always there to greet us when we came home from school. We grew up with a mother who taught us the value of honesty and hard work. We grew up with a mother who taught us how to serve others. We grew up with a mother who taught us how to cook, bake and keep a clean house. We grew up with a mother who read to us. We grew up with a mother who sacrificed for us. We grew up with a mother who was at the crossroads of our lives at every important juncture.
Mom had a cute sense of humor. She was feisty and was not afraid to speak her mind. She was a great seamstress and loved to quilt and visit with her neighbors and friends. She loved her grandchildren, dogs, babies and “The Andy Griffith Show.” The quality of honesty was so important to Mom. She really should have been a professional detective. She could get right to the bottom of any situation.
Mom has had a tremendous influence for good. She might not have recognized it, but she raised her family with love and sacrifice. The good in us is her living on. The good in her grandchildren is her living on. Of all degrees and acclamations one can get in this life, none is more important than a person who has developed the ability to love. Love is the greatest power — it’s how we overcome the world. Mom has loved us well.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Eddie Juvan; parents, John and Elizabeth Gilchrist; and brother, Tom Gilchrist.
She is survived by her brother, John (Ruth) Gilchrist; her daughters, Charlene Schlegel and Susan (Dan) Furner; and her grandchildren, Chelsey and Zachary Burns, Berlin Schlegel, Brooke and Daren Hendriksen, Ben and Paislie Furner, Caitlin Furner, Sam Furner, Alex Hoggan and Libby Furner.
We would like to extend our love and appreciation to the staff of Symbii Hospice for their exceptional care for Mom over the past month.
A graveside service was held for close family at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 20, in Kemmerer. Interment was at the Lincoln County Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were handled by the Ball Family Chapel.
