Obituaries

On October 21, 2024 Betty Frances Oxtoby passed away peacefully in the arms of her husband Christopher Keyes after a short illness.

Betty is survived by her three children Isabella (Braeydn), Claudia (Nick) and James; her seven older siblings Bill, Reg (Judie), Rodger, Helen McLaughlin (John), John (Karen), Ken and Mike; as well as many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews; her three beloved grandchildren Brantley, Blair and Harriet; her mother-in-law Catherine and by her father-in-law Walter, with whom she had a special relationship. Betty was predeceased by her parents Isabel and John; her sisters-in-law Deborah (Deck) Oxtoby (Ken) and Paige (Keyes) Nearn (Robert).

Betty was born in Regina, Saskatchewan on April 27, 1965 and lived most of her life in the city. During the last several years she lived at Regina Beach, Saskatchewan where she could indulge her passion for gardening, cooking, sailing and more recently cycling, as well as the many renovation projects an old house brings. In her youth she was an accomplished equestrian with a love for dressage.

Although Betty was a private, reserved woman, she was a deeply loyal and caring person to those in her circle. She loved to entertain but was most comfortable tucked out of the limelight, enjoying whatever the event was from the sidelines.

However, her reserved nature quickly disappeared when her competitive streak came out in the heat of many a hard-fought sailboat race. Likewise, Betty had a strong sense of how people should be treated and was often a champion for consumers when taking on bureaucracy or businesses and corporations who she felt were not delivering as they should. Her attention to detail and research made her a forceful advocate for doing the right thing.

Betty was a cat lady. Throughout her life there was constantly at least one cat and sometimes up to three. Other than a couple of Siamese early on, her preference was always for Tabbies. Her latest and last, Oliver, was rescued one cold night from the local gas station. Although she always said her family was her primary focus, there were times it was a toss-up between family and felines.

To all who knew her, her passing will leave a profound hole though great gratitude in having had the privilege to have had this beautiful and beautifully complicated woman in their lives. In her final weeks she received the most extraordinary and compassionate care from the staff at the Palliative Care Unit at the Regina Pasqua Hospital. In a difficult and painful circumstance her family could not have imagined such generosity and support from complete strangers. Thank you.

A Celebration of Betty’s Life will be held at Regina Beach during the summer of 2025. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Betty may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or the Regina Humane Society.