Elizabeth Ann "Betty" Field

Elizabeth Ann “Betty” Field, age 88, passed away peacefully Sunday, June 21, 2020, at the Poppen Hospice Residence in Muskegon, Michigan.  Betty was born on October 15, 1931, the daughter of Louis and Ethel (Schultz) Eilers, at the Eilers family farm in Claybanks Township.

Betty attended Pine Grove School, graduated from Montague High School, and attended Muskegon Business School.  On June 6, 1956, she married William D. “Bill” Field and they made their home on the Field farm west of Shelby.  Betty managed the Field farm while Bill worked at the Whitehall Tannery, and Betty continued that role as she and Bill began a family and expanded their farming operation.  Betty was a fabulous cook, an accomplished seamstress, and she loved to read, an avocation she passed on to her two sons.  Betty was a member of the Shelby Congregational Church and active in the Women’s Fellowship.  She was a Cub Scout Den Leader, a member of the Shelby Women’s Club, and could always be counted on to make delicious pies and other dishes for school, church, and community functions.

Betty began working for the Oceana County Clerk’s office in 1971.  In 1976 she was elected to her first full term as the Oceana County Clerk, and she was re-elected for two more terms.  In retirement Betty and Bill spent their winters in Yuma, AZ, with cherished family members from Michigan and California, and their summers at the Stony Lake Oval with their fellow “Beach Bums”.  After Bill’s death in 2005 Betty kept herself busy celebrating the accomplishments of her grandchildren, reading voraciously, organizing the Eilers Family Reunions at Claybanks Park, preparing family meals, and going on gambling trips around the US and Midwest with her brother and sisters, nieces, and special friends.  She also enjoyed meeting with friends for meals and fellowship at the Oceana County Council on Aging, and at the Ladder in Shelby. Most of all Betty loved to share laughs around the dining table with family and friends.

Betty is survived by her sons Ross A. (Jean Lewis) Field, and Robert W. Field, both of Shelby; her grandchildren, William (Catherine) Field, Julia Field, and Madeline Field; her great-granddaughter Shiloh Field and great-grandson Jack Field; her sisters Rose Marie “Pat” White, and Margaret (Jerry) Leutzinger; her sister-in-laws Paula Eilers, Louise Eilers, Marjorie Peterson, and Pat Field; and many beloved nieces, nephews, and friends.  Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her husband William Field, her sisters Barbara Cheever and Marilyn Kocher, and her brothers John, Francis, and Russell Eilers.

A memorial service is planned for later in the summer or early fall.  Memorials may be directed to the Shelby Congregational Church Women’s Fellowship, 51 E. Third Street, Shelby, MI  49455 or the Shelby Area District Library, 189 N. Maple Street, Shelby, MI  49455.

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