Betty Elliott

Betty June Elliott passed away Sunday, March 15, 2026, at Evergreen Hospice House in Albany, Oregon.

Betty was born at home in Lakeview, Oregon, on June 22, 1932, to Harvey Roy Sanders and Alice Erma Sherwood Sanders. She joined her brother, Lee Sherwood Sanders.

Betty grew up in Lakeview, where she attended Bullard School, Junior High, and High School. She enjoyed horses and the family pets, Band, Home Economics, and Math Class, earning a Bernard Daly Scholarship. Betty graduated from high school with honors in 1950.

Betty attended and was baptized at the Methodist Church. At the age of 15, she started work at News & Sweets. This was fortuitous, as she met her future husband while working there. Hubert “Dean” Elliott worked for Intercity Sand and Gravel when he was sent to Lakeview on a job. The couple met in the summer of 1949 and were married on December 24, 1949.

Dean and Betty had three children. Ricky Dean was born August 8, 1951; Wayne LeRoy was born April 1, 1954; Karen Danette was born February 16, 1960. The family lived in Lakeview until the spring of 1963, when they bought the John Day Union Oil Distributorship. Betty ran the company office, did the banking, and even filled trucks with diesel!

In 1973, the couple bought the John Day drive-in theatre, later named the Wilderness Drive-In Theatre. They also built an indoor theatre at the same location, and the family operated them for 26 years.

Another icon in Grant County was owned by Dean and Betty as well. In 1978, they started the Grizzly Bear Pizza Parlor on Main Street in John Day. A few years later, they converted the Grizzly Bear franchise to Gold Town Pizza, which they owned and operated until 1996. Betty was instrumental in managing all these endeavors.

While operating the theatres and pizza parlor in John Day, the Elliotts also purchased and operated two theatres in Burns, Oregon, converting one into a restaurant. As if that wasn’t enough to keep Betty busy, she also did the paperwork for Dean’s lumber truck and log truck deliveries! After selling the Pizza Parlor in 1996, Betty worked for several years at John Day Office Supply, and she volunteered at the Canyon City Museum and the Ranch Rodeo Museum in John Day. She also helped at the Grant County Fair and Rodeo for many years.

Betty lived in John Day and Canyon City for 53 years, but the long-time family home burned to the ground in the Canyon Complex fire, August 14, 2015. After the fire, Dean and Betty relocated to Prairie City, Oregon. In 2017, after her husband’s death, she moved to Philomath, Oregon, to live with her daughter Karen.

The Elliott home was always open to anyone needing love and attention, and over the years, Betty helped foster children, grandchildren, nieces, and many friends and relatives. She was very proud of them all. Above all, she loved her husband, Dean.

Betty enjoyed Genealogy research, cooking, reading, and puzzles. She loved her family and friends. For the past 2 plus years, Betty resided at the Quail Run Mennonite Village assisted living facility in Albany, Oregon, where she very much enjoyed the staff and other residents.

Betty was preceded in death by her Grandparents, infant Brother, Robert Roy Sanders, sister, Baby Girl Sanders, parents, Harvey and Alice “Irma” Sanders, husband, Hubert Dean Elliott, son, Wayne Leroy Elliott, and brother, Lee Sherwood Sanders.

Survivors include son, Ricky Dean Elliott (Sarah); daughter, Karen Danette Schulz (Marty); grandsons, Bill Elliott, Isaac Liberty, Dustin Elliott, Sean Castle, and Brock Wilson; granddaughter, Asia Richardson; great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and nieces.

Memorial contributions may be made to the John Day Fire Station fund, Grant County Search and Rescue, John Day Ranch Rodeo Museum, or Hospice location of your choice in Betty’s honor through Driskill Memorial Chapel at 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, Oregon 97845.

A private graveside service will be held by the family.