A Belated Memorial
The family of Bette Decker was kind to reach out and let us know of her passing in July of 2022. Jenna Lacy, Betteʻs granddaughter, shared some wonderful information that will be interesting to all of us who have benefitted from Betteʻs skills as an organizer and an artist. "Bette was a co-founder of the Windward Artists Guild along with her friend Rosalie Prussling" along with Gini McCall, Lucille Cooper, and with the assistance of Juliette May Fraser and David Ash. "She was a fierce lover of life and adventure and had such a keen eye for interesting art and antiques, which she often used as models in her paintings. She was always wearing some fascinating conversation piece or article of clothing, changing the molecules in the room with her astonishing intellectual synthesis of life and the hidden realities of the world, and always having the most fun. She was an artist to the very core of her heart, and we are feeling the tremendous force of loss of her absence in our family." Thank you to the family of Bette Decker for letting us know. She left us a wonderful legacy of friendships, great shows, thousands of dollars of good deeds, and an organization that turned 60 years old back in 2020! Her obituary is below but you can also find it here: https://www.stoessfuneralhome.com/obituary/Bette-Decker Bette Marie Decker, 92, passed away on July 31, 2022. She was born in San Diego, CA. She was the first of three girls born to W.T. Wolley, Lt Commander USN (Ret.) and Nelly Wolley. She followed her passion in 1948 by studying fine arts at Florida State University and University of Hawaii. Throughout her life she actively pursued her love of art and painting, and created thousands of pieces, to include design in oil, acrylic, clay, sculpting, etchings, and print in a variety of media. In 1950, she married the love of her life, Walter Decker in Pensacola, FL. Bette was the co-founder and Creative Art Director of the Aloha Candle Company, Resort Line Hawaii, and Banana Bay clothing company. She co-founded the Windward Artists Guild in Kailua, HI, which still exists today. She was president of The Made in Hawaii Association, a large group of manufacturers of local Hawaiian products. She loved teaching children creative expression through art in various forms at the YWCA and the Summer Arts Program for children in Kailua-Kaneohe, Hawaii, later volunteering in classrooms for children ages 5-18. The majority of her life was spent in Hawaii and Kentucky. Bette is survived by four children, six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
