Bette Jo “Lankford” Schortman 1927-2020
Bette Jo “Lankford” Schortman, 92, of Porterville, CA passed away on September 23, 2020 in Porterville, California. She was born on December 28, 1927, to Lawton and Josephine (Baker) Lankford. She graduated from Porterville High School in 1945.
She married Everett (Bud) William Schortman on April 12, 1947. Bud and Bette were married for 57 years when Bud passed away in May of 2004. She met Bud the evening she was crowned “Veterans Day Queen” in Porterville, on November 11, 1945.
Bette was a stay-athome Mom and enjoyed volunteering as a Pink Lady at Sierra View Hospital. She loved golfing and was a member of River Island and the River Island Women’s Club. She won the President’s Cup Tournament, which all her friends celebrated by toasting out of the cup. She also won Ladies Best Ball doubles two years in a row with her best friend Chris Ralph. She enjoyed spending great times with her friends, playing bridge, celebrating milestones with her birthday group, and having her children and their families come home for the holidays. Her homemade toffee and lace oatmeal cookies will forever be a fond memory to her children and grandchildren.
Over the years, Bette and Bud loved to attend their children’s and grandchildren’s sporting events, from basketball, football, track and baseball to swimming, dancing, water polo, soccer, volleyball and golf. They purchased a cabin at Doyle Springs where many a happy summer was spent with friends and family. Later in life they traveled to Canada, Colorado, Atlanta and London to visit Mark and his family. Photos of trips to Hawaii with golf friends were lovingly collected and stories Bette shared were always fun to hear about.
Bette is survived by her son, Rick (Sheila) Schortman of Porterville, CA; daughter, Patti Schortman Bills of Clovis, CA; son, Mark (Tracy) Schortman of Dallas, TX; and her sister, Barbara (Lankford) Marr of Porterville, CA.
She was known as Gram to her grandsons/ granddaughters by age:
Joshua (Lindsey) Bills of Clovis, CA, Shelby (Derek) Curry of Porterville, CA., Matt (Katie) Schortman of Dallas, TX, Lindsey (Louis) Bauer of Dallas, TX, Jason Bills of Clovis, CA, and Barrett(blanca) Schortman of Bakersfield, CA.
Bette has eight great grandchildren, Ian and Addison Bills, Rhys and Isla Curry, Emory and Thompson Bauer and Sophia and Hudson Schortman.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Bud; her parents, Lawton and Jo Lankford,; brothers, Bill Lankford and Jim Lankford; and Son-in-law, C.L. Bills.
A visitation will be held at Myers Chapel on Thursday, October 8, 2020 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. A private graveside service will be at Hillcrest Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Porterville Family Crisis Center at P.O. Box 2033, Porterville, CA 93258 or visit their website at cc.familycrisis.org.
To sign the family guest book or send condolences please go to www.myersfuneral.com. Myers Funeral Service & Crematory in Porterville is in charge of arrangements.