Betty Soegaard's Obituary
Betty Soegaard Age: 90 City: Foster City Date of Death: Saturday 08/16/2014LifeBirth Date: 2/5/1924 Place of birth: Manchester, England Parents: Charles and Gladys PetrieBetty Soegaard passed away peacefully on August 16, 2014, surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.Betty was born on February 5, 1924 near Manchester, England. Her father was a professional soccer player from Scotland and her brother Ken became a turbine engineer for Boeing and Canadian Hydro. Betty was an excellent track athlete in elementary and high school. She decided in 1940 when WW2 started to serve her country and forego college. She lied about her age and joined the Women’s Air Force at the age of 16. Her job was a map coordinator for aircraft fling in and out of England. In 1945 she met her first husband Bill Nichols a Half Moon Bay native who had become a spitfire pilot but was shot down early on and became a POW at the famous Great Escape camp in Germany. He returned to England when the war ended and flew 4 engine transports out of the same base that Betty worked at. They met at a dance and shortly thereafter were married. In 1946 they sailed on the Queen Mary back to the United States.Betty had a Victorian type upbringing so it was a culture shock to meet the family from Half Moon Bay. In 1947 they had their only child Ken and moved to Redwood City. Betty became a administrative assistant for MG Motors in Redwood City and years later became office manager for Lyon Van and Storage in Belmont.Betty later married Richard Soegaard of Hillsborough and there became an integral volunteer of the Children’s Society for San Mateo County. She enjoyed the major holidays, especially Christmas, when she could make a special dinner for her family. She also enjoyed traveling and did get to return to England on several occasions.Betty is survived by her son Ken Nichols, daughter in law Marietta Nichols, stepson Steve Soegaard, grandson Chad Nichols and grand daughter in law Rose-Marie Nichols, step grand son Jim Screeton, grand daughter in law Melinda Screeton, great grand sons, Sean Kenneth Nichols, great grand daughters Victoria Nichols, Adrianna Screeton, Jenna Screeton and Alyssa Screeton.Betty will be laid to rest at Skylawn Cemetary in San Mateo on Friday August 22 at 11:00a.m.In leau of flowers please make donations to Children’s Society of San Mateo in memory of Betty Soegaard.
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