The Life of BETTY JEANNE ROW
Betty Jeanne Row died January 9, 2014 at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown, Iowa. She was born Betty Mae Molitor in Iowa City, Iowa on August 19, 1923; daughter of Ella Margaret (Fisher) Molitor. Betty was taken home for adoption by Charles Joseph Oliphant and Fannie Ida Mae Dixson Oliphant during the winter of 1923-24. When the official adoption papers were signed on July 11, 1924, the family had moved to Ames, Iowa and Betty’s name was changed to Betty Jeanne M. Oliphant. The family subsequently moved to Chicago, Illinois, and then to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Betty graduated from high school.
Betty married Donald Wallace Phelps, a naval reservist in December 1941, and following Don’s call to active duty, Betty joined the Minnesota State Guard and served for two years, qualifying for radio repair work while in the Guard. She was discharged from the Guard on December 4, 1943 and enlisted in the United States Navy Women’s Reserve on January 6, 1944. She attended the Naval Training School at Hunter College in Bronx, New York, and the Naval Air Technical Training Command in Norman, Oklahoma, and was stationed at the Naval Air Station in San Diego, California, where she worked on the big Navy fighter and torpedo airplanes. She advanced from an aviation specialist, to an aviation specialist second class, to an aviation machinist mate third class before being discharged from the Navy on August 15, 1945. Betty’s second marriage to Lester Glenn Hasselfeld ended in 1950, following Betty’s move in 1949 to Des Moines, Iowa.
Betty worked in the accounting department at Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company for 31 years, retiring on May 1, 1980 after marrying George Russell Row, a co-worker, on August 3, 1975.
She is survived by her son, Corey Charles Phelps of Des Moines, Iowa, and her daughter, Carolyn Judith (Hasselfeldt) Metcalf of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Other survivors include her son-in-law, Richard Metcalf; her daughters-in-law, Jolene Phelps and Janet Woods; four grandchildren, Benjamin C. Phelps (and Caroline), Stephen G. Phelps (and Carrie), Kent M. Lee (and Rachel Rand), and Natalie Rounds (Jay Linzy); and seven great-grandchildren, Miles Phelps, Jazmine Hooper, Abigail Phelps, Isabella Lee, Lilliana Lee, Layla Lee, and Emily Owens.
Funeral services will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at Hamilton’s near Highland Memory Gardens, 121 NW 60th Avenue in Des Moines, with visitation beginning at 5:00 p.m. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to one of Betty’s principal charities: Hope Ministries, the Animal Rescue League, or the Wounded Warrior Project.
Betty married Donald Wallace Phelps, a naval reservist in December 1941, and following Don’s call to active duty, Betty joined the Minnesota State Guard and served for two years, qualifying for radio repair work while in the Guard. She was discharged from the Guard on December 4, 1943 and enlisted in the United States Navy Women’s Reserve on January 6, 1944. She attended the Naval Training School at Hunter College in Bronx, New York, and the Naval Air Technical Training Command in Norman, Oklahoma, and was stationed at the Naval Air Station in San Diego, California, where she worked on the big Navy fighter and torpedo airplanes. She advanced from an aviation specialist, to an aviation specialist second class, to an aviation machinist mate third class before being discharged from the Navy on August 15, 1945. Betty’s second marriage to Lester Glenn Hasselfeld ended in 1950, following Betty’s move in 1949 to Des Moines, Iowa.
Betty worked in the accounting department at Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company for 31 years, retiring on May 1, 1980 after marrying George Russell Row, a co-worker, on August 3, 1975.
She is survived by her son, Corey Charles Phelps of Des Moines, Iowa, and her daughter, Carolyn Judith (Hasselfeldt) Metcalf of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Other survivors include her son-in-law, Richard Metcalf; her daughters-in-law, Jolene Phelps and Janet Woods; four grandchildren, Benjamin C. Phelps (and Caroline), Stephen G. Phelps (and Carrie), Kent M. Lee (and Rachel Rand), and Natalie Rounds (Jay Linzy); and seven great-grandchildren, Miles Phelps, Jazmine Hooper, Abigail Phelps, Isabella Lee, Lilliana Lee, Layla Lee, and Emily Owens.
Funeral services will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at Hamilton’s near Highland Memory Gardens, 121 NW 60th Avenue in Des Moines, with visitation beginning at 5:00 p.m. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to one of Betty’s principal charities: Hope Ministries, the Animal Rescue League, or the Wounded Warrior Project.