Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Decker Gould

GOULD, Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Decker, 88, San Antonio, TX, and Milo, ME, at San Antonio, TX, June 3, 2016. Arrangements are in the care of the Lary Funeral Home.

 Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Decker Gould

SAN ANTONIO, TX & MILO, ME – Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Decker Gould, 88, passed away June 3, 2016, in San Antonio, TX, after a long illness. She was born January 10, 1928, in Augusta, ME, the daughter of the late Roy Emery Decker of LaGrange, ME, and Jennie Eula Morrill of Milo, ME. Her great-grandfather was 1LT Royal B. Decker who fought with B Co., 20th Maine Volunteer Regiment at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Betty grew up in Milo, graduating from Milo High School in the Class of 1946. She attended two years of nursing training at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston, MA, then completed her training at Madigan Memorial Hospital in Houlton, ME, graduating in September 1950 with an R.N. degree. In 1971. she obtained an Associate’s Degree from Montgomery College, Rockville, MD, and in 1974, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

She met Ansel Vernon Gould in February 1950 at the wedding of their parents, Eben Cassius Gould and Jennie Morrill Decker, in Gorham, ME. It was an auspicious meeting as Betty and Ansel later wed at Eben and Jennie’s home in Maplewood, NJ, on April 4, 1952, a union that lasted for 57 years. They lived in Norfolk, VA, while Ansel served in the U.S. Navy, then returned to Princeton, NJ, while he completed his Master’s Degree. They subsequently lived in La Mesa, CA, Levittown, NJ, and Waltham, MA, eventually settling in Rockville, MD. Her declining health led to a move to San Antonio, TX, three years ago so she could be in a nursing facility near her daughter.

Betty worked as an obstetrical nurse at Orange Memorial Hospital, Orange, NJ, for several years. She stayed home while her children were young, then worked part-time at Sears while returning to college, then with the Finance Department at Mitre Corporation in McLean, VA.

One of Betty’s loves was travel, and some of her favorite memories included a two month trip to Europe in 1953 when Ansel was stationed in the Mediterranean, living in England for six months in 1968, and touring Europe during visits to her daughter’s family when they were stationed in Nurnberg, Germany.

After retirement she enjoyed spending time with her family, especially the grandchildren. They often visited her and Ansel in Rockville, and they made several trips together to Disney World. She and Ansel also made many trips to San Antonio, TX, where they attended all the grandchildren’s sport, school, scout and recreational activities. She cherished the yearly visits to the family camp on Schoodic Lake, where she enjoyed visits with friends and relatives, the peacefulness of the Maine woods, fresh lobster and steamer clams, and lively games of chicken foot dominoes with the grandchildren.

  Betty was predeceased by her husband; parents; step-father; and special cousins: Carl, George and Bob Hamlin, who were like brothers to her. She is survived by her daughter, Deborah Jane Pederson and husband, Claud “Pete” of San Antonio, TX; son, Robert Eben Gould and wife, Ellen McGinn of Silver Spring, MD; and brother-in-law, Dr. William Eben Gould and wife, Adelle Drane-Bosch of Cerritos, CA. She will be lovingly remembered by her grandchildren: Peter, Kenneth, Matthew and Jennifer Pederson of San Antonio, TX. She and Peter were especially close, as he spent four years living with her and helping to care for her after Ansel died in 2010. 

Friends and family were invited to call 10 a.m., Tuesday, June 14, 2016, until time of funeral service at 11 a.m. at Lary Funeral Home, Milo, with Pastor Phil McGlauflin of the Milo United Baptist Church, officiating. Burial was in the family lot in Evergreen Cemetery, Milo. In lieu of flowers, friends may make donations to the National MS Society, Greater DC, Maryland Chapter, 1800 M Street Northwest, Suite B50, North Washington, DC 20036 or online at www.nationalmssociety.org/Chapters/MDM. Messages of condolence and memories may be expressed at www.laryfuneralhome.com.