Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.
Bets Stover died at her home in Hood River, Oregon, on Nov. 20, 2025, at the age of 76.
Bets was born on March 2, 1949, in Cheboygan, Michigan, and grew up in Onaway and Long Lake, Michigan. She earned an English degree from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). She later pursued a Biology degree in Oregon. In the 1970s, Bets moved to Seattle, Washington. Bets worked at King Co. Juvenile Court, volunteered in the Galapagos, pursued ceramic arts, and married her first husband Conrad Wold. She later lived near Goldendale, Washington, where she worked with the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). In the 1980s, she moved to Portland, Oregon, where her work included Hospice House and later social work with Kaiser Permanente, retiring in 1999. She created a beautiful garden in Portland, as she did everywhere she lived.
That same year, Bets and her husband John Murphy made their home in Hood River, drawn to the Columbia River Gorge and the life it offered. The outdoors was central to their relationship and daily life — mountain biking, skiing, hiking, and time on the river, including whitewater canoeing. Bets was an early riser and a thoughtful organizer who made room for others — planning visits, sharing trail ideas and books, and always adding warmth, humor, and gratitude to the ordinary details of life together.
John and Bets traveled annually to the southwest, and Bets returned to Hood River each spring, continuing to love the Gorge and her community. She was close to Lee Murphy, John’s son, whom she loved dearly. Bets and John traveled widely as volunteers for The Nature Conservancy and wildlife and conservations organizations. Bets was preceded in death by her husband John Murphy (2019; her parents, Jim and Dorothy Parr Stover; and her brother Bert Stover. She is survived by her sisters Ann Tennyson and Jaye Stover; her brother Jeff Stover; her beloved stepson Lee Murphy; and extended family and friends.
A private interment/committal was held. A celebration of life will be held Sunday, Jan. 18 at Edgefield in Troutdale, Oregon, at 12:30 p.m. Donations in memory of Bets can be made to The Center for Biological Diversity.
Columbia Gorge News, Dec. 10, 2025
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