Elizabeth "Bette" Liebbe Ivester

Nov. 12, 1924 - Feb. 17, 2011

Mrs. Elizabeth "Bette" Liebbe Ivester, 86, of Mooresville, died Thursday, February 17, 2011 at Gordon Hospice House in Statesville. She was born in Detroit, MI. on November 12, 1924 to the late Ernest Theodore and Florence Schilling Liebbe. For 51 years, she was married to the late Henry E. Ivester who preceded her in death in 1999. She was educated in the midwest and in 1946 moved to Winston Salem where she raised a family, worked and retired. In 2000 she moved to Lake Norman. She worked at Manheim Statesville Auto Auction in GMAC financing until her illness in October 2010. She was very active in raising money for the Troutman Library and worked as Treasurer since 2004. In her early retirement years, Bette concentrated her efforts and advocacy on long-term care issues based on her experience with family members. She served on the Forsyth County Advisory Committee, the Alzheimer’s Advocacy Committee, and was a member of the Board of Directors of Friends of Residents in Long Term Care for many years. She also was a board member of the Iredell Community Concert Association and they were blessed by her talents, judgment and enthusiasm. She is survived by two sons, Ronald Clifton Ivester of Mooresville and Gary James Ivester (Phyllis) of Mocksville; two daughters, Nancy I. Whitaker (Jerry) of Jacksonville, FL. and Patricia I. Potter of Portland, ME; a sister, Dorothea L. Vander Stoep (Dean) of Houston, TX; ten grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. A visitation for family and friends will be held from 12 until 1:00 p.m. on Monday, February 21, 2011 in the Troutman Funeral Home Chapel. Funeral services celebrating the life of Bette Ivester will immediately follow at 1:00 p.m. with the Rev. Tom Sherrod officiating. Burial will follow in Oaklawn Memorial Gardens in Winston Salem, N.C. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Bette’s memory may be made to Citizens for Troutman Library, P.O. Box 74, Troutman, NC 28166; Hospice & Palliative Care of Iredell County, 2347 Simonton Road, Statesville, NC 28625; or Friends of Residents of Long Term Care, 883-C Washington Street, Raleigh, NC 27605.