Town Square

Post a New Topic

Obituary: Betty Jean Whelan: athlete and artist

Original post made on May 9, 2010

Betty Jean Whelan of Portola Valley, who was an accomplished athlete in her youth, died Jan. 21 at the age of 81. She was the wife of Joe Whelan, the developer of Portola Valley Ranch, a 453-acre planned community, which has received numerous prestigious national awards.

Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 12:00 AM

Comments (2)

Posted by Charles (Chip) Geller
a resident of Atherton: other
on May 9, 2010 at 1:21 am

I will miss the memory of riding my bicycle home from school and seeing Mrs. Whelan out in her front yard planting something, or hopping into the station wagon, zipping out the driveway on her way to a tennis game.... With a friendly glance and a wave she was off...
When she was home in the kitchen, and I would stop by, she would hand me a cookie or a carrot stick and say "John is out back playin horse with Joe" so I would go and find em, out back shootin' hoops... Those were some fun days. And I'll never forget Clear Lake and learning how to water ski. Could she Ski? Like the pro's...I remember the photo of Joe and Betty getting married on water skis...
Awesome memories never to forget. Thank you Betty for being a big part of my childhood....I will miss you. Chip Geller


Posted by Poster
a resident of another community
on May 9, 2010 at 8:20 am

Here is a link to a story with the picture referred to by Charles: Web Link


Don't miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to be notified of new comments on this topic.

Email:


Post a comment

On Wednesday, we'll be launching a new website. To prepare and make sure all our content is available on the new platform, commenting on stories and in TownSquare has been disabled. When the new site is online, past comments will be available to be seen and we'll reinstate the ability to comment. We appreciate your patience while we make this transition..

Stay informed.

Get the day's top headlines from Almanac Online sent to your inbox in the Express newsletter.