Betty was born in Omaha, Nebraska on November 10, 1921 to Agnes Condon and Ewald Kolterman. When she was 12, her family packed their bags and settled in San Marino, California. This is where she would call home for 83 years until her passing at age 95 on May 24, 2017. She attended South Pasadena High School, graduating in 1939. She attended Pasadena City College, earning an Associate in Arts degree in 1941 and then continued her education at Woodbury Business School.

Betty began working at Annandale Country Club which became a significant part of her young adult life. She was always entertaining family with her stories. When World War II started, Betty and her friends had great fun entertaining the troops both in Pasadena and Los Angeles. There were dance halls where they gathered to dance, sing, and play ping pong before sending the soldiers off to war. She and her friends also enjoyed the southern California life, hanging out at Balboa Island, Catalina Island, and Santa Monica. After the war ended, her friends told her that if she wanted to meet a future husband named Bob, she needed to go ice skating. So Betty took up the sport and met Robert James, to whom she would marry in 1948. They honeymooned on Balboa Island and then made their home at her parent's house in San Marino.

The family grew to five children within the next 12 years and during the school years, she was a sports mom, Cub Scout leader, Girl Scout mom, and carpool mom. In her spare time she enjoyed reading, playing bridge and participating in golf and tennis. For several years, she was very active with the MS Society and helped organize their annual fund raiser which involved local professional sports teams including the Rams and Dodgers team players. She was also on the planning committee for several of the high school reunions.

Betty loved her family and cherished their many gatherings at her home and at her beach home in San Diego. She loved her grandchildren and never forgot them on their special days. She was a kind and thoughtful person who made friends wherever she went. Through family vacations at San Diego and camping all around California, she instilled in her children a love and respect of the outdoors and a sense of adventure.

She will be greatly missed by her family, friends, and her San Marino neighbors. Betty is predeceased by her sister, Lucille Smiley, her husband, Robert and her son, Roger. She is survived by her children Chuck James, Linda James Diederichen, Thomas James, and Laura James Glasgow; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Linda James Diederichen and Laura James Glasgow, daughters