Tribute to Betty Elizabeth Spalding Bryson was born in Glasgow on the 14th of September 1930 to parents Agnes and James. She was 1 of 3 children they had, and her siblings were a sister Sheila and a brother Graham, all have now sadly passed away. Betty grew up in the tenements of Glasgow in a close and loving family She was a very quiet and shy child but was always happy. One time during the war whilst Betty, her mum and Shelia were at the cinema, there was an explosion which blew out every window and did lots of damage to the tenements opposite theirs. Arriving back to the chaos they were fearful Betty’s dad had been injured but fortunately he was unhurt. Although her education was quite disrupted because of the war, Betty attended Golfhill Primary school before going to Whitehill school in Dennistoun. When Betty left school, she began working in the office at the Glasgow fish market before later working in various other offices and then a doctor’s surgery. Later in life as her children grew up Betty delivered Littlewoods catalogues to earn some extra money and she then worked in C & A’s which was a job she loved. During her teenage years Betty enjoyed dancing at the Dennistoun Palais and then aged 21 she went on holiday to the Isle of Man with friends and it was there that Betty met her future husband Robert (known as Bob) in 1951. He was very keen on Betty and pursued her even though she was going out with someone else, eventually love blossomed and they married 2 years later in Blackfriars Church Glasgow on the 3rd of August 1953 and were married 62 years. As time passed the family grew with the births of 5 children Linda, Stuart, Frazer, Rhona and Cameron who in later years gave Betty 7 grandchildren and a number of great grandchildren whom she loved very much. She was a very loving lady and was always busy. She was generous, kind, with a great sense of humour. Really just a wonderful mother, I was told. She always made all their Halloween costumes each year, which was a big thing in Scotland. She belonged to the Young Wives Club held in the church hall and often baked for the church fairs. She was especially known for her tablet (It’s a Scottish favourite) Every Monday evening Betty and her Mum would meet up to go to the cinema or a mystery bus tour, the theatre or in summer a train ride to Helensburgh on the Clyde coast to walk along the promenade and eat a fish supper. She loved the film Sound of Music and saw it at least 16 times at the cinema. One of the songs Edelweiss, was a firm favourite. Betty was a prolific letter writer. She sent cards and very newsy letters to family and friends which always cheered the recipient up and often contained words of advice or comfort. I’m sure many of the people here still have some correspondence from Betty. When the children were young, they had days out at the seaside along the Clyde coast or they would go to the park and her mother Nessie would go along as well to help out. And who could forget the regular visits to Bothwell castle when Bob had a car There were many family holidays to Millport most years and it is a tradition that still goes on today with the younger generations Whenever they went to Millport, Betty would never go on the beach as she hated sand but would find a secret spot, of which she had many, and settle down to read her book, before one or more children found her. Betty loved to travel and she and her mother were one of the first to go on a package holiday to Spain when they were very new on the market. This love of travelling never left her and over the years herself and Bob visited Russia, America, Malta (which they loved) Austria, Canada and many more countries throughout the world Even in later life Betty would hop on a bus to Romford and then get the next bus to arrive to anywhere just to see where it went and what was there. When Bob was made redundant the family came south and settled in Collier Row in 1983 as he looked for work. She was very proud of her Scottish roots and it was a big wrench for Betty to leave her family behind and start a new life in a new country at her age.. After moving south Betty was delighted to be taken on by C & A’s in Romford before they finally closed. their doors. She also worked at Shallets the curtain shop in Harlow where she loved the journey to work on the bus, passing lots of countryside which she found very relaxing. Her last job was at Robbie’s shop back in Romford where she worked until she was 81 as she loved people and was very good with the customers. The staff at Robbie’s loved her and they were like a family so when she said she was leaving they pleaded with her to change her mind. She was a social person and for a time was a member of the local bowls club where she made a few friends, she also went to the nearby community Centre. Every year on Remembrance Sunday Linda would go with Betty to St. Andrew’s church in Hornchurch as she loved the service there. Then once a month and at Christmas Rhona went with Betty to the Methodist church round the corner from her house. She especially loved the singing. She enjoyed gardening and listening to Scottish music especially from singers like Andy Stewart, the Alexander brothers and also Des O'Connor although she wasn’t much of a tv fan preferring instead to read books Betty loved a good old fashioned Scottish sing song and would often hand out song sheets to all and sundry. Her own repertoire included “I’m a Little Teapot” which her great grand-children used to sing with her at The Beeches. This absolutely delighted her. Betty was fiercely independent and found it hard to accept any help from her family as she was very much a hands on mother but hated being the focus of attention After being diagnosed with dementia in 2011 Betty needed help and so she went into the Beeches care home in 2015 where all of the staff took great care of her. Betty’s family would like to acknowledge those here today from the Beeches where she was shown care in abundance and on behalf of all of the family, they hope this message is conveyed back to your colleagues. It was a great comfort for her family to know Betty was well looked after in her final days and for that her family are eternally grateful. Betty was a very special lady who was loved very much and she will be greatly missed but her family take a little comfort in the thought that she is now back with Bob again for eternity.