Mary Elizabeth Caya (Bertsch), aged 89, passed peacefully on Thursday, April 27th. Mary, known affectionately as Betty by her family and friends, was preceded in death by her parents Ann and Francis Bertsch, husband Cyrus Caya, brother Jack Bertsch and her son Douglas Caya. Betty is survived by her sisters Colleen Bertsch and Patricia Johnson and her children; Kathleen Buescher (Spokane), Gary Caya (Snohomish), Nancy Karger (Kennewick) and Maribeth Rivelsrud (Norway). Betty is also survived by her 17 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.   Mary Elizabeth Caya was born at Sacred Heart Hospital and resided in north Spokane her entire life. She graduated from Holy Names Academy after which she worked at the Kress store and the phone company. Betty met Cyrus through friends at Cooks roller skating rink while he was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base. Their relationship flourished, they married in 1950, and celebrated 65 eventful years together.  Although she was a traditional "housewife," she was always interested in work outside of the home and held several different part-time positions at Playfair Race Course and the U.S. Census Bureau. Betty and Cyrus fully enjoyed their retirement as snowbirds and spent 26 years travelling to reside in Arizona for the winters.

Betty was a devout Catholic. She was an active member of Assumption Parish, and her faith was a pillar of strength for her family. Betty had a close-knit group of childhood friends that celebrated their friendship by having “birthday club” up until this past year. She had a great sense of humor and enjoyed art, reading, sewing, music, dance, playing cards and travelling. The Caya family spent many memorable summers together with friends at Diamond Lake.  Betty was a devoted wife and mother, and she truly treasured her time spent together with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was exceptionally kind and accepting to everyone she met. Her physical presence will be dearly missed by all of those fortunate enough to have spent time with her, and her spirit will forever remain in our hearts.  A viewing will be held from 3-6pm Friday, May 5, 2017, with Rosary following at Hennessey Funeral Home & Crematory on North Division. Funeral services will be at Assumption Parish, Saturday, May 6th at 11 am with reception to follow at the parish hall. The internment will be at 3:30 pm Saturday at Holy Cross cemetery.  The family would appreciate memorial donations to be made to Horizon Hospice & Palliative Care, 123 W. Cascade Way, Spokane, WA 99208 or https://wshpco.org/donate/  

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