Bette Jo (Guenther) Blaser

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Bette Jo (Guenther) Blaser, 83, passed away peacefully  Dec. 27, 2017, at Sharon Care Center in Centralia Wash. She was born in Chehalis  May 27, 1934, to Sylvester “Boise”and Olive Guenther.

She attended Napavine schools and graduated in 1952. On New Year’s Eve 1951, she met Werner Blaser, who was playing bass in a band. That night, they made a date and eventually got married at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Chehalis, Aug. 16, 1952. They were married for 65 years.

Bette Jo played piano in Werner’s swiss band, until she had their first child, Doug, who was born with cerebral palsy. Doug needed special attention due to most schools having stairways, so Bette Jo would drive him to school in Olympia. While Doug would attend school, she would work at a café until it was time to bring him home. When Doug was able to attend Chehalis High School, Bette Jo worked as the manager for Dairy Dan and later Dairy Bar. She was a fixture in those two restaurants.

In earlier years, Bette Jo had also worked as the bookkeeper for the family business, Blaser Brothers Midway Dairy.

She was a member of the Eagles, where she and Werner played a lot of pinochle. Bette Jo also loved to travel to Switzerland, watch the Huskies and to attend swiss events in Frances, Tacoma and Portland, where you could always find her playing cards with friends on a table in the corner. She also loved to see her kid’s musical performances at various events.

Bette Jo is survived by sons, Joe (Kim) Blaser and Don (Loretta) Blaser; daughter, Julie Blaser Calkins; twin sister, Mary Ann (Bill) Hassler; grandchildren, Louie (Casey), Andy (Erin), Joe Jr., Hayden, Johnny and Cadie Blaser, Valerie Ocker, Brady and Delanie Calkins; great-grandchildren, Leo and Fletcher Blaser and one on the way.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Werner; brothers, James, Richard and Norman Guenther; and son, Doug Blaser.

Visitation may be made between 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.,, followed by a funeral mass at 11 a.m., Friday, Jan. 12, 2018, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Chehalis, followed by a graveside service at Claquato Cemetery. A reception also follows the mass at St. Joseph’s School.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be donations to: The Doug Blaser Scholarship Fund, c/o Don Blaser, 1105 Fieldcrest Ave., Centralia, WA 98531. Sticklin Funeral Chapel, 1437 S. Gold St., Centralia, WA 98531. 360-736-1388. Condolences may be offered at www.sticklinsfuneralchapel.com.