Betty Irene Imes

Betty Imes, 89, of Echo, MN, passed away on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at the Parkview Home in Belview. Funeral services will be 11:00 AM on Monday, February 12, 2018 at Rock Valle Lutheran Church, rural Echo. Visitation will be from 5 – 7 PM on Sunday at the Sunset Funeral Home in Echo and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday. Interment will be at Rock Valle Lutheran Cemetery. The Sunset Funeral & Cremation Association is caring for the family. Betty Irene (Andrew) Imes was born on December 19, 1928, in Cashtown, Pennsylvania to Clarence and Maud (Mickley) Andrew. Her mother died when she was 5, and her father died when she was 8. She and her brother Glenn were raised by their aunt and uncle, Florence and Harry Andrew in Lyndonville, New York. After graduating from high school in Lyndonville in 1946, she attended Shippensburg State College in Pennsylvania where she earned her teaching degree in 1950. Soon after that, her brother John introduced her to an Air Force navigator, Alden Imes. They were married on March 24, 1951, and lived on several Air Force bases before returning to Alden’s hometown of Echo in 1953. Betty and Alden and their children lived in several Minnesota towns, including New Brighton, Wyoming and Crosby before moving back to the Imes family farm near Echo in 1967. No matter where they lived, Betty was a teacher, and she taught fifth and third grades at Echo Elementary School from 1967 to her retirement in 1990. After she retired, she and Alden raised hydroponic tomatoes for several years. They took many bus trips to destinations in the U.S. and Canada, and she was an active volunteer for the Red Cross and with the Rock Valle Lutheran Church Women. She loved to read, play bridge, garden and spend time with her family and friends. In 2014, ill health caused her to move into assisted living, and she had been a resident of Parkview Home since February 2017. She is survived by her husband of nearly 67 years, Alden; children Tina (Jeff) Hatfield of Richfield, David (Donna) Imes of Echo, Diane Bahn of Deltona, FL, Becky (Scott) Beyers of New Brighton; as well as five grandchildren, six great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers John and Glenn, sisters-in-law Jan and Jean, other relatives and close friends.