Miriam Bettinger

April 1, 1922 - December 23, 2022

Miriam Bettinger, a lifelong Californian who lived on the Peninsula for more than 70 years, died on December 23, 2022. She was 100 years old.

Miriam Alice Glines was born April 1, 1922 in Fortuna, California, in Humboldt County. She was the only child of Herbert Lawrence Glines and Ella May (Mulley) Glines. She grew up in a house without running water or electricity, on 20 acres of secondgrowth redwood. The land remains in the family, with a house that her father built.

After graduating Fortuna Union High School in 1940, she matriculated at San Jose State College (now San José State University) — as her mother had done nearly 30 years before, when it was known as California State Normal School. And like her mother, she enrolled in education classes, preparing to be a teacher.

At San Jose State she met Richard Bettinger, an engineering student from San Jose. Not too much later they were engaged, and then married in 1944, shortly before Richard went overseas to serve in the Army Air Forces in India. She graduated San Jose State, got her teaching credential and taught elementary school in Turlock, in the Central Valley.

When Richard returned, the couple moved to Albany, where he finished his engineering degree at UC Berkeley. Their first child, James, was born in 1947; a second, Robert, in 1948. In 1949 they moved to Belmont, on the Peninsula, where their third son, Steven, was born in 1950. The baby boom was in full throat and the children attended crowded schools, sometimes with double sessions. Miriam taught intermittently as a substitute teacher, but devoted most of her energy to organizing and running a lively household.

Miriam and Richard were early members of Hillsdale Methodist Church, in San Mateo, and were active in its programs, including the Women’s Society of Christian Service, Methodist Men, and the Methodist Youth Fellowship. Both were active in Boy Scouts Troop 27, which the church sponsored. In 1964 they welcomed into their home Philip Graf, an American Field Service exchange student from Northern Ireland, who became the lifelong fourth son in the family.

When the four boys left home, Miriam got more involved in Hillsdale Methodist Church programs and other community organizations as well, including the Peninsula Symphony and P.E.O. Richard and Miriam moved to San Carlos in 1977, where she lived the rest of her life. When Richard retired they traveled more, especially to Europe. Beginning in 1986, they took each of their three grandsons on individual trips to Europe.

No remembrance of Miriam Bettinger would be complete without highlighting her love of cooking and food. Beginning in the Great Depression, when she assumed responsibility for family meals because both her parents worked full-time, she chopped and sliced and fried and baked her way through nine decades. She relished good food with simple and tasty ingredients. She grew up eating home-grown fruits and vegetables, and nothing gave her more pleasure than a fresh garden tomato. She was always comparing cooking notes, recipes and tips with those in her family who shared this love (which was all of them), and was commonly known to ask during a phone call, “What are you fixing for dinner tonight?”

Richard died in 2021, also at the age of 100; they were married 77 years. She is survived by her four sons and three daughters-in-law, six grandchildren and their spouses, and nine greatgrandchildren. A memorial service will be held in the spring.