On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, Elizabeth (Bette) Margaret Panton, wife of Ross (dec), mother of Neil and Ian, passed away aged 80 years.
Bette Paten was born in Cowra, NSW on June 18, 1942, to Percy Raymond Thomas Paten and Myra Paten (nee Tattersall), a sister for Ray who was born four years earlier.
At the time Mr Paten was publican of the Railway Hotel in Cowra and World War II was well underway.
There was a prisoner of war camp at Cowra which housed approximately 1100 Japanese soldiers.
A mass breakout was famously staged at the camp in August 1944, when Bette was just two-years-old.
Following the war, the Patens moved to Collaroy on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
Bette attended primary school at St Joseph’s Narrabeen and later high school at Stella Maris College in Manly.
While attending high school, Bette volunteered for the Royal Far West at the local hospital by reading stories over the PA system for the children.
The Royal Far West is a charity which specialises in supporting children from rural and remote areas.
After finishing school, Bette made a successful application for a teacher’s scholarship to study at Newcastle Teachers College.
After completion of her studies, Bette was appointed to Cabramatta West Primary School in Sydney where she taught for three years.
During this time Bette studied Indonesian at night and applied for a teaching position in Indonesia.
Word of this application reached some high places and Mr Paten was advised that this action may be seen by the Indonesians as taking employment away from locals, which could possibly prove to be an unwise undertaking, and the idea was stopped in its tracks.
Shortly afterwards Bette was relocated by the Department of Education to the township of Narrabri.
Catching the overnight train from Sydney, Bette befriended a Narrabri local Gordon Campbell, who promptly decided Bette simply had to meet a friend of his Ross Henry George Panton.
Upon her arrival in Narrabri, Bette stayed initially at the Tourist Hotel where she was soon introduced to Ross, and after a romantic courtship the pair were married at St Joseph’s Church in Narrabeen on January 7, 1967.
Ross proceeded to help build a family home in Delaney Avenue.
The couple later welcomed two sons, Neil born in May 1971 and Ian born in March 1974.
During these years Bette took time off from her teaching position at Narrabri Public School to care for her growing family.
As the children grew older, Bette worked as a substitute teacher at various schools in the Narrabri district.
She would also spend afternoons teaching adult literacy at home, and still manage to have the family dinner of meat and three vegetables on the table by 6pm sharp every night.
Bette was the quintessential quiet achiever in all aspects of her life.
Wearing many hats, Bette was Narrabri representative for the Royal Far West organisation, a part time swimming teacher, librarian, volunteer at St Vincent’s de Paul and Meals on Wheels, active on the school P & F association, a judge for the Narrabri Arts Eisteddfod, an avid supporter of the Narrabri Art & Crafts Society and the Red Cross.
During the 1980s, Bette took on the roles of secretary and treasurer for Shalom and Shabbat, an organisation which helped recovering alcoholics.
Bette received a long service medal from the Red Cross organisation and was named SIAHTO Woman of the Year in 2008.
Never one to crave the limelight or seek out praise for her good deeds, Bette firmly believed the satisfaction gained from the knowledge that she had contributed or had somehow helped someone else become a better version of themselves, was all the reward she ever needed.
Bette lived by the adage a good deed that goes unnoticed is perhaps worth more than one which is recognised, because it is guaranteed to have been performed for the right reasons.
This unwavering strong moral compass is something that Bette carried with her through all her 80 years and was evident in her last days at her nursing home in Melbourne when every nurse, orderly or friend who walked through her door was greeted with a ‘bless you’ upon entering and exiting.
Only residing in Melbourne for a few short months, Bette made a strong circle of friends and was a regular attendee at St Jude’s Catholic Church in Langwarrin.
Grandmother to Drew, Callie, Adam and Ivy, Bette was treasured as a lady who led her life as a supportive wife, mother and grandmother, an extraordinary teacher of all things, an exemplary citizen and a true role model for her family.
Bette is survived by Neil and Ian and their families. She will be greatly missed.
