Betty Jean (Olson) Snodgrass

Betty Jean (Olson) Snodgrass passed away peacefully and surrounded by loved ones on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Monroe, Georgia. She now resides in her heavenly home with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She was a remarkable person who was dearly loved by her family, her friends, her former neighbors, fellow church members, and her beloved pups Boo and Maggie.

Betty was born to Norman and Violet (Thompson) Olson on September 13, 1930, in Hayward, Wisconsin. She spent some summers in her childhood on a family farm and interacted with a large extended family in Sawyer County – including owners of the local dairy and source of free ice cream cones. Betty was a 1948 graduate of Hayward High School and went on to graduate as a registered nurse at the (now Abbott) Northwestern Hospital School of Nursing in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1951. While in Minnesota she lived an active life that included singing in the Minneapolis Choralaires and participating in beauty pageants – winning the title of the 1952 Queen of the Lakes. She always spoke with great joy about a ski trip she took with friends to Colorado while living in Minneapolis.

It was in the Twin Cities that Betty met her husband Brent Snodgrass in the spring of 1953. They were married in Brent’s hometown of Fairmont, West Virginia on Sunday, August 2, 1953, after the morning service of the First United Methodist Church. A reception was held afterwards at the Cozy Rest Resort in Grafton, West Virginia, which was owned by Brent’s aunt and uncle. The couple honeymooned in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.

Mr. & Mrs. Snodgrass lived in Aberdeen, MD; Baltimore, MD; Plainfield, NJ; and back to Baltimore, before relocating to Long Beach, IN in April of 1963, where Brent pursued a public relations career with Bethlehem Steel. By this time the couple grew a young family of Mary (born in 1956), Jeffrey (born in 1958), and Dana (born in 1960). The family loved living in Long Beach and especially when residing in their home called “The Boat” near Stop 15 right on Lake Michigan. In the late 1960’s the couple traveled to Europe twice, and in the early 1970’s began visiting Florida and a vacation home regularly. In 1974 Bethlehem Steel relocated the couple back to Baltimore, where they lived until retiring to Naples, FL in 1985. They enjoyed living in Naples and Betty loved her life as a wife, mother, grandparent, and dog mother. Betty and Brent were also members of First Baptist Church, Naples, FL.

Betty was predeceased by her husband, her parents, her brothers – Bob Olson (Mabel), Dick Olson (Laurie), and Don Olson (Janene), and her sister Shirley Jordan (John). She is survived by her three children – Mary Solheim (John), Jeffrey Snodgrass, and Dana Chacon (Ralph). Also, by grandchildren – Kelly Carlson (John), Kara Knight (Keith), Cali Chacon, Molly Murrow, Kati Cruz (Daniel), and Micaiah Chacon. Great grandchildren are David Carlson (Andrea), Michael Carlson (Maddy), Naiya Carlson, Kodi Carlson, Kimber Knight, Kendall Knight, Kylo Cruz, and Luca Cruz. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews who she loved dearly and talked about often.

An online celebration of life service is being planned for the near future.