Betty Lou Johnson Mota Sherman 77, born December 27, 1939, passed away on September 24, 2017 after battling Alzheimer’s.
Betty is survived by the love of her life, Al Sherman; her siblings Bob Johnson, Virgil McFarland Jr., Cheryl Holmes and Jeanie Geiger; her kids Brad Johnson, Stephanie Mota Jaussen, Steve Mota, Brian Mota, Lollie Mota, Alec Sherman, Nathan Sherman and Beth Sherman as well as numerous grandkids and great grandkids.
She is preceded in death by both her parents Lloyd Johnson and Nola Linch McFarland, her brother Billy Leroy Johnson and her dog “Sorry”.
Betty was fun and had a great sense of humor. She loved to sing, dance, read, create beautiful oil-paintings and shoot pool. She enjoyed the simple pleasures in life like spending time with friends and family, a nice meal, a drive in the country or just watching the clouds and birds. She was extremely generous and donated to many charities.
While in her thirties as a single parent of five children and with almost no formal preparation she entered the Nursing Program at Gavilan College in Gilroy. Betty received straight-A’s, was Class President, Valedictorian, gave the Commencement Address at her graduation and scored the highest on the State Board Nursing Exams of any Gavilan student at that date. Betty worked as a nurse for many years.
The California Highway Patrol presented Betty with a Citizen’s Award for her bravery in crawling thru a broken-out passenger-side window to administer CPR for an extended period of time to the victim of a grizzly head-on crash between a big-rig and a sub-compact car.
Betty suffered many hard-knocks and bad-breaks in life but instead of withdrawing from life, she chose to develop deep compassion and caring for others. She was always asking people “How are you doing?”, because she genuinely wanted to know. Betty said “I care about people and I want to let them know that I care about them.” Betty treated people kindly. She found the good in people. She was understanding and forgiving. She touched many lives in beautiful ways.
Betty was an amazing woman who rose above extremely difficult circumstances to achieve great things. She was fun, compassionate, wise, caring and loving. She was courageous, strong, accepting, supportive, kind and generous. She was appreciative of the smallest things, and very affectionate towards others. Betty was a wonderful wife, a great mother, grandmother and a dear friend to all who knew her.
A Celebration of Life Graveside Memorial will be held on Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 11am at Burwood Cemetery 28320 E River Rd Escalon, CA 95320 with a BBQ to follow for close family and friends.
Betty was a strong woman who had strong love – a love that will never die. We can keep Betty’s love alive in our hearts by remembering what she would say: “Always remember how very much I love you. Be happy. Take good care of yourself.” `
