Betty Jean (Zyp) Thayer passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in the loving arms of her two daughters in Bellingham, Washington.
Betty was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on Oct. 22, 1937, to John and Margaret Zyp. Betty Jean and family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in the early 1940s. Betty remained in Cleveland through her grade school years and graduated from John Marshall High School in 1955. Betty continued her education at Ohio University in Athens where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education.
Degree in hand, Betty landed her first job as a speech pathologist in Willowick, Ohio. Betty married her first love in 1959 and had three children, Carrie, Jason and Dana. Betty’s family grew by three when she married Donald Thayer in 1974. Don was a Washington native and had two kids of his own, Rhonda and Brian. Their blended family had much in common and shared many adventures together with Betty and Don leading the way…