Betty Lea Trout

Betty Lea Trout was born on August 5, 1928 at the Troy Hospital to Burl and Alice Trout. She died at Sacred Heart Medical Center on October 1, 2019 from complications of a heart attack. 

Betty Lea was raised on a farm on American Ridge near Troy and was the eldest of five siblings. She attended a one room school before graduating from Troy High School in 1946. She earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics and minors in science and sociology from the University of Idaho in 1950. She later earned a master’s degree in home economics from Iowa State University in 1959. She taught home economics at Grangeville High School for four years and was in the state vocational department for a year before moving to Iowa. There she taught home economics education at Iowa State University and supervised student teachers at Ames High School for eight years. She then was a state supervisor in Iowa for two years before moving back west. She taught at Central Washington University for nine years. In 1974 she began teaching in the education department at Washington State University and served part time as a state consultant of vocational home economics in schools in Eastern Washington. She retired from WSU in 1993. She was a member of many state and national vocational and home economics associations. She holds a lifetime membership in the Association of Student Teaching. She has been a State Future Homemakers of America (FHA) advisor in Idaho and Iowa and a regional consultant in Washington State and holds FHA honorary memberships in all three states. 

In 1978 she moved into town with her mother whom she cared for for nearly 20 years. After her mother’s passing, she went back to work part time at WSU. 

Although she was known as Betty Lea in her professional career, she was Aunt Betty to her nearly 100 nieces and nephews and the community of Troy. Despite her distinguished professional career, her greatest accomplishment was being the pillar of her enormous family, hosting family gatherings and providing a second home to her nieces and nephews. 

Even after full retirement, Aunt Betty maintained an astoundingly busy social calendar. Over many years, she enjoyed Vandal football, Mariners baseball, Gonzaga basketball, Cougar cheese, and any sports her nieces and nephews were playing in. She was a member of the Troy Lutheran Church, Moscow Road Runners and many local card groups in retirement. She loved Bingo, traveling, shopping and the color pink.

She is survived by her sister Doris Edgar, brother Butch (Vickie) Trout, brother-in-law Lloyd Ackerman, 20 nieces and nephews, 50 great nieces and nephews and 26 great-great nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Maxine Strottmann and Jean Ackerman, and her brothers-in-law Hugh Edgar and Lyle Strottmann.

A funeral service will be held at 10:30 A.M. at Short’s Funeral Chapel on Friday, October 4th Vault interment to follow at the Moscow Cemetery. A time of sharing and lunch will be at the Troy Lutheran Church Social Hall afterward.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Troy Ambulance and Volunteer Fire Department. 

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