Myrtle Elizabeth Morse

Myrtle Elizabeth (Beth) Hedges Morse passed away on January 21, 2009 in Seattle. Beth made friends wherever she went. People looked to her as a model of patience, caring for others, and quiet strength. Beth was born July 1, 1906 in Alstown, Eastern Washington. Her parents, Myrtle and Thomas Hedges, were homesteaders on acreage north and east from present-day Waterville. Growing up as the eldest child on a wheat ranch in the early 1900's shaped Beth's strength of character, her life-long passion for beauty, and her remarkable determination and pluck. When old enough for high school, Beth left the ranch to board with family closer to school. She followed in her mother's footsteps by going to the University of Washington where she earned a BA from the school of Music in 1928. Prior to her marriage to her college sweetheart, Roy Winchester Morse, in 1929, Beth taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Mansfield, Eastern Washington. Roy passed away shortly before their 73rd wedding anniversary in 2002. Throughout her married life Beth was a valued member of the many communities in which she lived, always finding opportunities for using her talents in music, teaching and gardening. With their oldest daughter, Alice, Beth and Roy moved to Arbor Heights in West Seattle in 1939 and became life-long members of the Fauntleroy Church, United Church of Christ, as well as the Fauntleroy "Y." Beth was active in P.E.O., Chapter A in Seattle, and a founding member of the Maude A. Sawyer Arboretum group. Beth's natural talents for helping others, being actively engaged in her community, creating a lovely home and garden environment as well as her warmth, humor, and charm were nowhere more apparent than at the Kenney Presbyterian Retirement Home where she lived from 2003 until her death.

Beth is survived by her daughters Alice Morse Powell and husband, Dr. Frank Powell, of Fresno, California, and Virginia Morse Bievenour and husband, Donald Bievenour, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Her surviving grandchildren are Dr. Jevon Powell and wife, Darcy Birkeland of Seattle, Gregory Powell of Fresno, and Torrey Bievenour and wife, Lori, of Indianapolis. Twin boys, Eli and Spencer, Beth's great-grandchildren, were born to Jevon and Darcy in December 2007.

Services will be held at the Fauntleroy Church, 9140 California Avenue SW, Seattle, on February 16, 2009 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Fauntleroy Church Endowment Fund, P.E.O. International Cottey College Fund, Seattle's Washington Park Arboretum, or a charitable organization of your choice.