Aug. 2, 1920 – June 18, 2022 Bette Northrop Johansing passed away peacefully at her home in Solana Beach on June 18th in the company of family. Bette was born to John (Jack) K. Northrop and Inez Harmer Northrop on August 2nd, 1920, and was raised in Santa Barbara before the family moved to Glendale. She attended St. Mary’s Academy in Los Angeles, Mills College and USC, where she joined Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. She looked forward to summers at the family home in Lake Arrowhead, where she enjoyed water sports and especially meeting the love of her life, Paul Johansing, whom she married on August 10th, 1940 at the Santa Barbara Mission. Paul and Bette moved to the Pasadena area where they raised their 9 children and Bette became very involved in their community with various organizations, including Pasadena Junior League, Social Service, Maryvale Junior Guilds and others. Paul and Bette enjoyed sharing time with friends at Annandale Country Club, Valley Hunt Club, and California Club. They were committed members of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Holy Family Catholic Church in South Pasadena and their children’s schools: St. Andrew’s, Mayfield, St. Francis High School, and Villanova High School in Ojai. In addition to Better’s volunteer activities, she bacame a highly successful interior designer. In the early 1990’s they moved to Oceanside, became parishioners of St. Thomas More Catholic Church and played an integral role in building the new church. In 2014, they moved to Solana Beach where they joined St. James Catholic Church. Paul predeceased Bette on June 5th, 2015. Bette is survived by children Pamela, Gere (and Xiaodan Ke), Tony (and Cathy), Tina, Kim (and Mark) Talbot, Teresa, and Christopher. She is also predeceased by her son, Andrew, and daughter, Gretchen Koch Johansing. Bette leaves twenty-six grand-children and thirty-three great-grandchildren. Bette’s funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. James Catholic Church, 690 Nardo Ave. Solana Beach, CA on Friday, July 22nd at 11:00 a.m.
Published by Whittier Daily News on Jul. 10, 2022.
