Betty Jane Haymaker Layton, 86, passed away at Brendan House in Kalispell on Monday evening, April 18, 2016. A graveside service will be at 1 p.m. May 20 at the C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery in Kalispell. She will be laid to rest next to her husband Richard B. Layton.

Betty was born May 4, 1929, in Rudyard, Montana, to Emery Haymaker and Edna Bradbury. She was one of 11 children.

In 1946 she married John Friesen. This marriage resulted in four children, Richard, Kenneth, Darlene and Charlene.

In 1961 she moved to Chester. She married Richard B. Layton, a widower with five children, in 1967. Together they managed the Tip Top Café and owned the Busy Bee Greenhouse in Chester. In 1973 Betty and Dick relocated to Lakeside, where they bought and ran the Blacktail Inn for many years.

After Dick’s death, Betty retired and enjoyed her hobbies. She loved gardening and had the most beautiful flowers in her yard. Betty loved her cats, especially Misty and Sassy. She also enjoyed playing pinochle with her friends, backyard barbecues and holidays with her family, crocheting and putting together jigsaw puzzles. She was known for her scrumptious cinnamon rolls and she was an excellent cook. In 1995 Betty purchased a home in Kalispell, where she continued to reside until 2012 when declining health required her to move into Brendan House.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Richard; her sons, Kenneth and Richard; siblings, Marion, Harriet, Lorraine, Lloyd, Darlene, Virginia and Clinton; and one grandson, Kirk R. Layton.

Betty is survived by her daughters, Darlene Friesen of Tucson, Arizona, and Charlene Friesen of Seattle; daughter-in-law, Marianne Friesen, of Belgium; stepchildren, Leslie Layton of Las Vegas, Gary and Sue Layton of Chester, Steve and Yvonne Layton of Chester, Carol and Ralph O’Neil of Lakeside, and Marilyn and Bob Buckler of Everett, Washington; 17 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren; sisters, Penny, Beryl and Edna; and many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to express their thanks to the wonderful caregivers who came into Betty’s home to help her with her needs, and to the exceptional nurses, caregivers and staff at Brendan House in Kalispell, where she spent her last years.