Obituary of Betty J. Perreira

Betty Jane Perreira was born February 2, 1934, in Hollister, CA to parents John and Mary Deri. Betty was the oldest of 3 girls, big sister to Dorothy and Carol. A true Hollister native, Betty often shared fond memories of living behind her parent’s restaurant “The Big Apple Inn”. She attended local schools and later graduated from San Benito Joint Union High School. Betty worked at multiple locations many Hollister residents may remember fondly; the State Theater as an usherette, New China Café, Villa Pace, JC Penney’s, Hollister Bakery, and Superior Bakery. It’s no surprise her grandkids loved when she worked at the bakery the most, as they were often spoiled with cookies and donuts. At the age of 18, Betty married her husband of 70 years, Walter Perreira, when they eloped to Reno on July 24, 1952. Betty’s many prayers to St. Gerard were answered several years later with the blessing of 2 daughters, Gina and Karen. Betty devoted a lot of her free time to the Catholic Church. She volunteered at St. Vincent DePaul, was a Eucharistic minister for Sacred Heart/St. Benedict’s, as well as a frequent attendee of weekday morning mass, Bingo at the Sacred Heart gym on Fridays, and Saturday night mass. Betty found happiness in her day-to-day life in many ways. It could be her weekly Wednesday lunches with her daughters, catching up with her Soaps, spending time with her loving sister Carol, checking out QVC’s specials, watching the Giants win (and yelling at them if they didn’t), sneaking change from Walter’s “50 cent” coin pile to pay for her daily coffee refill, or daily her afternoon trips to the grocery store where she would inevitably run into someone she knew on every aisle…and then brag about her grandkids. Betty went peacefully to be with the Lord and be reunited with Walter on February 24, 2025. She is survived by her daughters Gina and Karen (Rick), sister Carol (Dick), grandchildren Walter (Anne), Wendy (Bryan), Jennifer (Thomas), and Jacqueline (Michael), and great-grandchildren Bryan, Grayce, Blake, Nathan, and Alicia. “Auntie Betty” was also treasured by many loving nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband Walter, her parents John and Mary, sister Dorothy, niece Charlene, nephew Darell, as well as many brothers and sisters-in-law. Her family is grateful she had such a loving group to welcome her home with God. The family would also like to extend their gratitude to the staff at Northside Skilled Nursing Facility for taking great care of Betty the last few months, as well as the staff at Hazel Hawkins Hospital for caring for Betty and supporting her family during her final day with us. Mass will be held on Monday, March 17th at 11:00 am at St. Benedict’s Church with onsite interment immediately following. In lieu of flowers, the family humbly requests donations to an organization that was very dear to Betty: St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, or in honor of her late husband: the Alzheimer’s Association.