FERRIN, Elizabeth

Eastern Arizona Courier, Safford, AZ Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Elizabeth Ferrin Funeral services for Beth Ferrin, 89, of Thatcher will be conducted Saturday, Feb. 27, at 11 a.m., at the Vining Funeral Home's Chapel of the Valley by Bishop Todd Haynie of the Thatcher Second Ward. Concluding services will follow in the Thatcher Cemetery. Beth was born Elizabeth Chandler on the 29th of September, 1920, in Thatcher to Millie Palmer and Walter Chandler Ferrin. She was the oldest of three children; her brother, Ray, and sister, Lois, later completed their family. Times were tough on everyone, but her parents were thrifty, and she learned early on many lessons to carry her through her life. When she was small, they moved to Superior, then Long Beach, Calif., and then to Miami, where she attended the Miami school until 1931. She loved climbing the hills and picking wildflowers, and especially playing with her brother and sister and their cousins. When their house burned down, her parents moved back to Thatcher, where she graduated from That-cher High School and then the Gila Academy, now Eastern Arizona College. In school she played tennis and was on the drill team as a drum majorette. She participated in school plays and loved to attend dances, which were common at the time. When World War II began, her father was called to work on Mair Island near San Francisco. Beth found work in a shipping office, also on Mair Island. She met many friends and recalled having a lot of fun with "the girls," as she called them. Her lifelong friend, Florine Birdno Roseberry, and her sister, Geraldine, were also in California for a time. While there, Beth's only brother, Ray, was killed in the crossing of the Rhine in France. This was a terrible blow to her and the family; she always felt Ray was her best friend. Following the war, the family relocated back to Thatcher. She attended a dance in Duncan, where she had a great time with Orrin Ferrin, fondly known as Red. She remembered when she was younger from her home in Thatcher by the highway, she could hear him singing as he milked the cows. She said he was the best dancer ever, and before long they were dating. They were married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Mesa Arizona Temple on the 4th of December, 1946. They resided in Pima when they were first married and became great friends with Orrin's brother, Ray, and his wife, Ramona. They also had a couple of nephews, Ted and Derald Ferrin, and later a niece, Gerry Williams, came to live with them for a while. Gerry and Ken Wiggins and their children became especially close to Orrin and Beth, who soon became known as everyone's favorite aunt and uncle. Beth was always active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in the Primary and Cub Scouts. She always had a strong testimony of the Gospel and never wavered in her faith. She loved working with children, and she and Orrin adopted and were sealed to two children, Florene and James. Orrin bought the Dairy Queen in Safford from his father and moved the family to Safford. They later moved back to Thatcher about 1962, where they have continued to reside. Beth was a great homemaker and awesome cook. She would always look forward to family reunions or any get-together with friends and family. She was also quite the seamstress and could sew anything she wanted, including curtains, suits or dresses for her nieces, her daughter and herself. She had a great passion for genealogy and spent many hours working hard to research and record as much as she could. Many great times were spent with Beth's sister, Lois, and her family, either in her home or Lois', with holidays at their folks, Milli and Walt's. She also loved picnics, hiking in the mountains, swimming and doing everything with family and friends. Many times, her cousins, Jerry and Alberta Robinson, Max and Wanda Thatcher, Jay and Florine Roseberry and many more would get together for a meal or camp-out for a great time. Beth passed peacefully but unexpectedly Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010, also her brother, Ray's, birthday. She is survived by her husband, Orrin of 63 years, her daughter, Florene, and son Jim (Kathryn); 11 grandchildren, Marqelle Laney (Spencer), Katie Featherman (Casey), James Featherman (Laura), Patrick Featherman (Catrina) and Nicole Featherman (Shane), John Ferrin, Jake Ferrin (Betta), Kyle Ferrin, Amanda Layton, Chandler Ferrin and Madison Ferrin; 14 great-grandchildren, Jordan, Tyson, Tali, Anderson, Adin and Ava Laney, McKenna Featherman and Mason Dauenhauer, Kacie, Paige, Austin and Kenzie Featherman, Lois Featherman and Amya Ferrin. A great-grandson, Tylor Anderson, preceded in her in death. The family would like to thank the staff at Sunset Hills, especially Jason, for all of their kind and loving care for their mother for the last few months of her life. The family will receive friends Friday evening from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Vining Funeral Home and Saturday morning from 10 a.m. until 10:45 a.m., also at Vining Funeral Home. Online condolences may be offered at viningfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are entrusted to Vining Funeral Home.