Betty Nano Phillips

Betty Nano Phillips, (nee Pearson), passed away peacefully, at the age of 85, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 at Highgate Senior Living in Billings, MT. Her daughters were with her as she left this life.

Betty was born on June 17, 1938 in Lusk, WY to her parents, Oliver and Ellen (O'Shea) Pearson. Her grandfather and grandmother, John and Mary O'Shea lived with the family when she was a girl and together, they moved as a family to Montana in 1941.

Betty and her sisters' early schooling was at the one-room "Baking Powder School House" near Biddle, MT. She graduated from Custer County High School in Miles City in 1956 and received a Hume Scholarship to attend Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman.

She was affiliated with Delta Gamma Sorority while attending MSU and graduated in 1960 with a degree in Home Economics.

After a year of teaching in Terry, MT, Betty traveled throughout Europe for three months with her college friend Aldona "Donie" Williams including visits to her O'Shea grandparents' hometowns in Ireland.

She returned to Montana to teach in Fromberg where she met Donald Phillips. Don and Betty were married in Billings on June 1, 1963. They farmed and raised three children on Bluewater Creek outside Fromberg until retiring in 1995.

For many years, Betty continued to serve the Fromberg community as an Election Judge and member of the Carbon County television board.

Betty was a loving, caring mother whose main purpose in life was to ensure her family was safe and secure. She was a talented seamstress and a patient and supportive teacher. She enjoyed passing on her skills to her daughters, nieces, and granddaughter.

She took great joy in supporting her children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews in their sporting events and other activities. She loved visiting with her aunt Sylvia, other family, and friends including the Red Hat Ladies and other community groups. While still living on the farm, Betty spent many happy hours chatting with visitors on the porch built for her by close family friend Jim Cooper. Many of us will remember her there, on her porch contentedly sipping a Pepsi and watching the world go by. Betty will live on in our memories as a beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, teacher, sister, and friend.

She was preceded in death in 2015 by her husband, Don. She is survived by her children: Valerie Horning (Ryan), Doni Phillips-Manning (Patrick), and Stan Phillips (Susan); her sisters: Patricia Corsi and Rosemary Scheibel; her three grandchildren: Dacey, Donny, and Sam; and her nieces and nephews: Debbie, Cindy, Rob, Steve, Shawna, Chris, and Jamie.

A memorial service will take place at Smith Funeral Chapel, 315 East 3rd Street in Laurel on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. followed by burial at Rockvale Cemetery.

Betty's family thanks the staff of Highgate Senior Living and Stillwater Hospice in Billings for being so kind to Betty over the past several years.

In lieu of flowers, please consider sending a donation to the Clark's Fork Valley Museum, PO Box 103, Fromberg, MT 59029 or the Fromberg Volunteer Fire Dept., PO Box 194, Fromberg, MT 59029.