- Date Of Death: December 9, 2018
- State: Michigan
Betty Lee (Rowley) McCabe, age 88, of Marion, North Carolina and Dowagiac, Michigan died Sunday, December 9, 2018, of natural causes in the Rose Hill Retirement Community.
She was born in Flint, Michigan to Edwin and Mabel (Kercher) Rowley.
Her parents preceded her in death, as did her brother, Thomas E. Rowley.
Betty attended Western Michigan University where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy. It was there that she met Laurance A. McCabe her best friend and love of her life. They were married in The Chapel in the Garden in Angola, Indiana on September 20, 1951. He preceded her in death in 2013.
Betty and her husband made many moves over the years for his work opportunities but after his retirement, they moved back to his family farm in Dowagiac, Michigan. Here they shared a love of gardening, the gift of many friends and all the wonders of nature that living on a beautiful farm can offer.
Betty was an amazing person that had a great love of learning and passed this on to her two children. She had a passion for science and loved solving challenges using her common sense and critical thinking skills. Her family remembers fondly her many quotes. She encouraged inventiveness and creativity often saying “necessity is the mother of invention.” She also said often that when trying to solve a problem you had to “hold your tongue just right.” Most of all saying that while you are doing all this “you have to have the patience of Job.”She was an amazing wife, mother and friend who was admired, respected, and loved. All of us are better human beings for having been loved, taught and encouraged by her.
Betty is survived by her son, Michael McCabe (Eni) and her daughter, Kathleen Ann McCabe (Steve Stemler); four grandchildren Jennifer Land-Sage, Sean Taylor McCabe, Bethany McCabe Petri, Matthew Noah McCabe; and two great-grandchildren Landon McCabe Sage and Oscar Lloyd Sage.
This portion of a poem was written by Dorothy Francis Gurney and is in the chapel where Betty married Laurance. She loved these words: “The kiss of the Sun for Pardon The song of the Birds for MirthOne is Nearer God’s Heart in a Garden Than anywhere on Earth”.
