Betty Lou (Busic) Crum, of Tacoma, died at her home in Tacoma on the morning of January 30, 2025 following a battle with ovarian cancer. She was 84 years old.

Born in Morganton, North Carolina, October 8, 1940, Betty grew up in the town of Sparta, North Carolina. She, and her twin sister, Barbara, both attended the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. While in North Carolina, Betty met Jerry Crum, who she would marry in 1963. They moved to the Seattle area, where Betty lived for the rest of her life.

Betty was a career administrative assistant, and was secretary to the president of Tacoma-based American Plywood Association, where she worked for 31 years, until her retirement in 2004.

She was known for her friendliness, and willingness to start up a conversation with almost anyone she met. As she got older, her neighbors and friends often called her “Miss Betty”.

She loved Betty Boop memorabilia and put her collection of 40 nutcrackers on display every Christmas. Betty was a diehard Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Mariners fan, watched all their games and flew her Seahawks and Mariners flags on the teams’ gamedays. She loved gardening and was always sure to have flowers and shrubbery around her home and ready to showcase as soon as spring came around. She loved working jigsaw puzzles and kept one spread out on a card table just waiting to be put together. She never passed up the chance to have a butterscotch milkshake, and even though she lived in Washington for more than 60 years, she never fully lost her Southern accent.

Betty loved her family, and especially adored her granddaughters, Madeline and Lily, whom she called her “Lil’ Doll Babies”.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Jerry. She is survived by her sons, Rex, of Oakland, California, Michael, of Bremerton, Rex’s wife, Megan Crum, Michael’s partner, Gabrielle Tellier, granddaughters Madeline and Lily Crum, her sister, Barbara Lucier, of Lexington, Kentucky, her brother, Robert Busic, of Gloucester, Virginia, and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service to celebrate Betty’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on April 4, 2025 at Oakwood Hill Funeral Home, Tacoma.