Elizabeth L. (Hopper) Hanley, a Shandon native, passed away Thursday, June 6, 2013. She was a wildflower from the Red Hills of Shandon, Calif., born the last of four children to homesteaders Laura Elizabeth (McMillan) Hopper and David LeRoy Hopper in 1922. A child of the Depression, she grew up protected from its severity by the food and shelter provided by her family ranching life. Betty often recalled enjoying barefoot childhood times as carefree, without fear, as all her cousins and friends shared the same circumstances. City relatives came for extended summer tent camping on the ranch, in order to share in the bounty of the crops. From those times, a lifelong love of recreational camping was born. The South Fork of the Trinity River and Yosemite still reverberate with the family's good times enjoyed there. Farm Bureau meetings called for monthly entertainments put on by members of the community, most of whom were related. The "show biz" flare revealed itself in her early years, especially encouraged by her Uncle Lou Harte and Aunt Pearl, a real show biz connection. Movie Magazines of the day, viewed in the Shandon Market on the way home from school, taught her the art of fashion and make-up. Then came World War II. The Shandon community sent many sons away, including both her older brothers. Pushed by her mother's drive for formal education, Betty enrolled in San Jose State under protest. She often described her two years of college as "majoring in social activities." One social activity, dancing, brought to her a lifelong companion, a sailor boy from Chicago, Ill. On Halloween Saturday night, Betty was at a dance in San Jose, Ca. She was dressed in a white blouse, blue skirt, bobby sox and saddle shoes. She had on red suspenders and wore her hair in the long page-boy style of the 40s. She had red-gold hair and lavender blue eyes. A shaft of light was on Betty and her partner, when in walked that sailor boy from Chicago, Bill Hanley. As he often repeated, Bill took one look at Betty dancing on the floor and walked straight toward her. He cut in and took over the dance. He always said he knew in that exact moment that they would marry.
Mrs. Hanley is survived by her three children, Eloise, Court, and Roy.
She was preceded in death by her parents, David LeRoy Hopper and Laura Elizabeth (McMillian) Hopper, husband of more than 64 years, William C. Hanley.