Betty Lorraine Wooten, 83, passed away quietly at home due to a long illness.

Betty was born in Susanville, Calif., on Sept. 14, 1927, to James and Hulda Vail. Betty was the youngest of 12 children born to Hulda.

Betty resided in Kimberly, Idaho, as a young girl and attended Kimberly High School. Betty was an active member of the Glee Club from 1941 through 1942; she lettered as a "Yell Leader" from 1944 to 1945 and was the assistant editor of the Kimberly Skyrocket newspaper in 1945. Betty graduated from Kimberly High School with honors in May of 1945 and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where she attended Henagar School of Business. Betty received an AA degree in business and graduated with honors. She was a member of the International Honor Society of typists. Betty returned to Twin Falls, Idaho, after graduation and worked for a seed company. She married Elmer S. Wooten of Eden, Idaho, on April 5, 1951. Betty later went to work for the Idaho unemployment office in Twin Falls, Idaho, from 1965 to 1968. She left the state unemployment office in 1968 and started her career with South Central Community Action Agency and retired from there in December of 2001. In the spring of 2008, Betty moved to Boise, Idaho, to be closer to her children, where she resided until she passed away.

A small sample of the great legacy Betty left behind was the development of programs in the Magic Valley that helped families and individuals. A few of those programs include the 1969 Migrant Head Start program, which spun off to the Idaho Migrant Council. In 1974, Betty created a Family Planning project that was later turned over to the District Health Department. In 1975, Betty received a grant to establish Senior Centers in Twin Falls, Buhl, Burley, Jerome and Kimberly. In 1980, she started the guardian ad litem program, which spun off and became 5th District CASA in 1994. In 1981, she set up the Family Health Corporation to operate Family Health Services. In 1989, she was named Business and Financial Manager of the Year by the U.S. Department of Energy and the State of Idaho. In 1990, she formed the Homeless Shelter Task Force which evolved into Valley House in 1995. In 1992, she initiated the development of the Boys and Girls Club of Magic Valley. In 1995, Betty formed the Regional Housing Council, which later became the Region IV Housing Council. In 1998, she created Families in Transition. This doesn't even scratch the surface of her accomplishments. Betty was truly a woman of substance!

Our mother taught us the value of all lives and of reaching out to other human beings. Our lives as children were filled with volunteer work and assisting those in need. As children, we learned how to serve willingly, humbly and with love. The legacy our mother left to us is one of love and service. We thank her from the bottom of our hearts for teaching us the true meaning of humanity.

Betty is survived by three of her four natural children, Robert Karl Wooten, Cynthia Wooten Swanson (Chuck) and Kathie Fogg (Chris); another young man she raised, Brian Franklin (Karla); seven grandchildren, Kip Wooten (Tawni), Gregg Wooten (Bobbi), Christopher James Swanson, Katie Jo Swanson, Addie Wooten, Brandon Swanson, Hailee Jo Fogg and Christopher John James Fogg; five living great-grandchildren, Dustin Wooten, Mandi Riddle, Brynli Wooten, Chase Wooten and Kacie Wooten; three living great-great-grandchildren, Hayli and Brayden Wooten and Keigan Riddle;13 living nieces and nephews; approximately 56 living great-nieces and great-nephews; and of course, Toby Toodles ("The Dog"), her loving companion.

Betty was preceded in death by both her parents, James and Hulda Vail; all 11 of her siblings; her husband, Elmer; sons, Lanny Wooten and James Eugene Wooten; one niece; one great-nephew; and many, many creatures great and small, including a skunk named Fuga.

A service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, at Relyea Funeral Chapel, at 318 N. Latah in Boise, with a reception and lunch to follow at the LDS Chapel, 701 S. Curtis in Boise. Betty will be inurned at a later date at the Morris Hill Cemetery.

Please join our family in a celebration of life to honor the memory of this fabulous woman, mother and friend. A woman, way beyond her time, who went toe-to-toe with many politicians over the years to effect social change to help the disabled, the elderly and the underprivileged in the state of Idaho.

The family wants to express its heartfelt thanks, appreciation and admiration to Life's Doors Hospice, Life's Doors Home Care and the private nursing staff who worked so diligently to make her last days here with us as comfortable and dignified as possible.