Elzbieta (Betty) Ann Gerla passed away unexpectedly on 27 March 2024 at her home in Colonia el Caloso, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. Betty’s family and friends are deeply saddened by her sudden death. She was born on 11 April 1948.

Betty is missed by her brother Phil Gerla (Janet) along with nieces Rebecca Castrey (Will) and Mary Hall (Jason), and nephews Tim (Adair), Andy (Stephanie), Paul (Melissa), and David (Laura). She is also loved and remembered by her longtime partner/friend of 35 years ago, Carl Conrad, and his daughter Lisa Barbieri (Mike) and grandson Aaron. Betty is preceded in death by her parents Michael and Dorothy and son Mike.

Betty grew up in Kenmore, Blue Point, and Peekskill, New York. Having quite a creative talent, she dreamed of going to fashion design school but ultimately received her degree in business from the University of Alaska. Life led her to many places around the U.S., including New York, Massachusetts, and Florida, and then west to Alaska and finally to Portland, Oregon. During this time, she was married and welcomed her son Mike in 1973. She also had canine children throughout most of her life, most recently her beloved dachshunds George and Lily.

Betty had a great business mind that led her to owning hosiery shops, becoming a landlord, and having a long-time career as a cost accountant. She also wanted to be involved with the community, volunteering for her city government and her HOA board. She was passionate about the women’s movement and also created classes to help women manage their personal finances. She loved to read and had an incredible number of books; the invention of the iPad made it much easier to store her library. She also vigilantly wrote in her journals throughout her life and even asked her brother Phil to organize her memoirs after she was gone, in order to illustrate the life of a woman in her era.

Throughout all of this, her artistic side continued to shine through as she loved to be creative. Betty was good at everything she did, whether it was creating a fabulous dinner, sewing a beautiful dress, or making exquisite decor. Her creative spirit led to lampwork glass-bead-making and jewelry creation as a hobby. She dove deep down as she decided to retire from the world of accounting and became a full- time artist creating jewelry during the week and spending her weekends at festivals and Portland Saturday Market. She was also a pioneer in selling online with eBay and then later Etsy. In addition to her own art, she was a fan of so many other pieces of art, the more intriguing the better. Another passion of Betty’s was dancing and watching live music. A favorite of hers was to go to summer concerts at the park or the local open jazz jam, and loved to ballroom dance in front of all. When Carl and Betty danced, many thought they were professional dancers.

Betty was an avid traveler. She enjoyed embarked on numerous cruises and loved to travel outside the U.S. to experience other cultures. One of her most memorable adventures was rafting down a section of the Yangtze River in China before the area was submerged by the construction and closure of Three Gorges Dam. Her favorite place of all was Paris; Betty was actually disappointed the Olympics were coming in 2024, interrupting her plans to return sooner. Betty loved to investigate in advance to find fun activities and also did not hesitate to travel alone. Her love of adventure eventually led her to moving to Puerto Vallarta.

Betty was very colorful inside and out. She left a lasting impression on anyone that met her. She cared greatly for others and would go out of her way to do something thoughtful for others to spread a little joy. She will be forever missed.