Betty Fay Willmore

CAMBRIDGE / MADISON - Betty Fay Willmore, age 89, of Cambridge, passed away on Thursday, April 8, 2021, at her home, with her family at her side. She was born on March 10, 1932, in Tennessee Ridge, Tenn., the daughter of Marshall and Pauline (Triplette) Travis. Betty graduated from Granite City High School, Granite City, Ill. She married Harold “Jim” Willmore on July 23, 1950, in Granite City. In 1972, they purchased Grandview Resort on Lake Monona. The cottages were rented by the week to vacationers in the summer and to college students during the school year. The cottages, built in the late 1930s, were grandfathered in and Jim and Betty tore them down in 2005 to build a new home on the lot. Betty was a realtor, worked at Willmore’s TV & Appliance, wrote freelance and managed Willmore’s Grandview Resort. She became a private pilot in the 60s and went on to become a commercial pilot. She was a member of The Ninety-Nines, international organization of licensed women pilots, for more than 50 years. Betty flew in air races and won Best of Beechcraft in the Wis-Sky Run in 1974. She was an artist in oil, watercolor, pastels, and rug hooking. She won best of show for her “Ladies of the Field” in 2011 at “An Artful Affair” in Madison. She had many state awards for watercolor and pastel through the Wisconsin Regional Artists Program (WRAP) and other art shows around the state. She won a state award in 2001 for her watercolor “My Huckleberry Friend,” a watercolor of her husband. She won first place with her “End of the Season” hand hooked rug of Grandview Resort and her hearth rug, “The Woodlands,” was in the Celebration of Hand Hooked Rugs magazine. She was a member of the Association of Wisconsin Artists, Madison Art Guild, Baraboo Art Group and had setup and run a local artist critique group in Madison. She was a member of the Fitchburg and Maple Bluff rug hooking groups and attended rug hook-ins and workshops. Betty earned a black belt in Tai Kwon Do at Ring’s All-American Karate in 1998, was a member of the Universal Taekwondo Association and practiced Yang style Tai Chi. She is survived by daughter, Tracy (Eric) Punsel; grandson, Travis (Angie) Bong-Willmore; great-granddaughter, Harper Willmore; and great-grandson, Preston Willmore. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold; son, James Marshall Willmore; father, Marshall J. Travis; mother, Pauline Travis; and brother, Herman Travis. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date. Private entombment was held at Roselawn Memorial Park. Memorials may be made to Rainbow Hospice Care, 147 W. Rockwell St., Jefferson, WI 53549; Southwest Reservation Aid (Partnership with Native Americans, BBB Accredited Charity), PO Box 1841, Merrifield, VA 22116-9605; Red Cloud Indian School (Charity review in process by BBB), 100 Mission Drive, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, SD 57770 - Betty additionally donated art books and supplies. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com . Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Drive (608) 221-5420