Betty Lou Gaeng wrote about history

People & Stories,

Betty Lou Gaeng had a passion for researching and writing historical articles for many Snohomish County publications. Several of her articles included her first-hand knowledge. She often said, “I don’t just write history, I am history.” Betty Lou Deebach was born in Yakima, Washington on January 27,1927. Her family moved west to Seattle and then in 1933 to a 10-acre chicken farm Alderwood Manor. She attended Alderwood Grade School until her family moved to Edmonds when she was in the 5th grade.

Her family lived through the Depression; a subject included in many of her writings. Betty Lou graduated from Edmonds High School in 1945, married and then became a single parent to four children. She credited her work as a legal secretary and assistant (paralegal) at a Seattle law firm to her skill of being a good researcher.

In her 40s Betty Lou remarried and for several years commercially fished in Southeast Alaska with her husband Fred Gaeng. She would eventually move to a retirement community in Lynnwood and began volunteering for the Lynnwood-Alderwood Many Heritage Association, the Edmonds Cemetery Board, the Edmonds Historical Museum, and the Sno-Isle Genealogical Society.

In 2019 Betty Lou moved to Anchorage, Alaska but still wrote about our local area. She passed away on April 17, 2023 at the age of 96. With her passing she has left her wonderful writings; this is her legacy. We have taken over 100 of her writings and had them digitized so they can be shared to those with an interest in any of her many written subjects. This project was made possible with a grant from the Snohomish County Preservation Commission.