JoAnne Charlotte Betts Miller, 86, passed away peacefully in Carnation, Washington, on Oct. 5, 2020, in the care of her loving family.

JoAnne was born at home to Mary and Joe Betts on Sept. 13, 1934, at Deep Lake, near Olympia, Washington.

Jo led an interesting life. She grew up in Aberdeen and Ocosta, graduating from Ocosta High School in 1953 as her class salutatorian. She then attended Grays Harbor College. Jo held jobs nearly all her life in diverse industries, doing secretarial work for Rayonier Paper Mill, state DSHS, Boeing Aerospace, Westport Police dispatcher, bank teller and Kila Hana RV Park manager. During the ’80s and ’90s she helped her husband in their Arctic Alaska Fisheries Company. Single again, in the early 2000s she owned and managed the successful Bottle Beach Antiques in Ocosta, and her last job, while in her early 80s, was at Westport Premier Realty.

Jo lived her last 20 years in her home on the bay in Ocosta, maintaining her family’s connection to the area and enjoying the changing tides, migratory birds, eagles, 4th of July fireworks, storms and the magnificent sunsets. She especially loved singing, playing slots, traveling and family gatherings. She will be remembered as a beautiful, strong, kind, witty and cheerful woman who embraced her independence.

She was preceded in death by her only son, Scott S. McKinney, in 2004. Jo is survived by her sister, Sharon Betts Smith (Reidar) of Carnation, her nieces: Julie Ratti (Craig) of Snohomish, Michele George of Maple Valley, Daphne (Dave) Pierce of Port Orchard, Erin (Adam) Foster of Carnation, Cecelia Walls of Aberdeen, Mary Tice of Portland, Geraldine Dudley of Sequim; nephews Shannon Willis of Westport, Lon Smith of Carnation, Damon Ratti (Sarah) of Monroe; step-daughter Sherry Miller of Olympia: step-sons Dick Miller and Ron Miller of Olympia, and many loved step-grandchildren; and great-nieces and nephews.

A celebration of JoAnne’s life is planned for a later date.