Monday, July 07, 2025

Picture of the Day - Flower

My goal this month is to take a daily picture of something that makes me smile.

This painting brings a bitterweek smile to my face as it was done by my Dear Friend Betty Nelson, who passed away at 92 from Kidney Cancer in 2022.  I remember when she was living here in Las Vegas and first started painting after her husband passed away, you could tell she was a beginning painter.  Amazingly, in just a few years, she created some remarkable masterpieces. She sent this to us several months before she passed away, and I will always cherish it.  

Her husband was one of my dad's Navy Buddies that I was introduced to, to help him with his Ship's Website, which I still run for the Nelson family. I used to love going over to Art and Betty's house, as Art would tell some fantastic stories about his Navy career, and life after he retired.  Betty was always very quiet and would make faces behind him when he was telling his stories.  After he passed, we used to go over to her house every couple of weeks to check up on her until her Daughter moved her to Florida with her. It was a perfect choice as Betty was here by herself while her kids were in other states. Her daughter, whom she moved in with, was a doctor, so she had to live in care.  Betty was quite the chatterbox when we used to visit her after her husband passed away. I learned a lot about the Celebrity golf tournaments they used to run in California and the different restaurants she managed.

Betty used to cook for the Dallas Cowboys in the 60s and had some great stories about her experiences. She was an amazing cook and taught my wife great recipes.