Delores (Anderson) Bettencourt died October 31, 2018. She was born November 9, 1939 in South Shore, Kentucky. Her parents were John Clarence and Roberta (Cole) Anderson.
She is survived by her husband Norman, whom she married on August 31, 1976, her brother, Wayne Anderson of Lucasville, Ohio; her brother and sister-in-law, Marvin and Jeanne Anderson of Fairfield Glade, Tennessee; her sister and brother-in-law, Sandra and Gary Ludwig of Aiken; and numerous nephews, cousins, grand and great grand nieces and nephews. There is also a large, extended family her marriage to Norman bought. Dory, as she was known to her friends and classmates, was a member of McKell Highschool, Class of 1957.
Dee, as she later became known, was person who continually sought to live her life to the fullest. In early 1960, Dee left home for Washington, DC, where she went to work for the FBI, and learned her skills in fingerprint identification. Dee worked for the FBI’s Criminal Identification Section for two years until she decided to move to Phoenix, Arizona.
In early 1975, Dee decided to return to law enforcement and joined the Phoenix Police Department as a clerk, where her primary duty was the searching and identification of fingerprints. Dee met Norman at the Department and in August 1976, resigned her position with Phoenix PD to start a new chapter of her life. Once settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, in 1978 Dee went to work for the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Crime Laboratory as Latent Fingerprint Examiner.
Over her career there was an ever-increasing development in chemical and physical methods for the processing of evidence fingerprints for list of possible matches. Dee was proficient in all aspects of the skills necessary of evidence, in local, state and federal court. On March 1, 1997, Dee retired as the Lead Fingerprint Examiner, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s, Central Identification Bureau.
Upon retirement, Dee, who stated working while still in high school, tried something different. To stay at home. Dee’s adventurous spirit did rest for long and began to continue to pursue her love of travel, live theater and concerts.
Dee traveled all of the United States. She visited Canada, Western and Central Europe, Peru, and Cuba. The highlight of her travel was her last journey.
Eight days, in late August 2018, to London with her sister Sandy, climaxed by a tour of Highclear Castle of Downtown Abbey fame. Dee entered Hospice Care on October 11, 2018 and thus began a Celebration of Her Life. For a period of six days, her family traveled from Delaware, Tennessee, Florida and California to spend a few days or just hours with her.
On a daily basis, she was visited by marvelous people for her Village at Woodside neighborhood. There were the wonderful women she met through her participation in the Aiken Newcomers Club. A few steps from her room was a setting room, which she called “her living room”.
There were times it was standing room only. Dee was amazed she had so many friends. Even though often became exhausted by the visits, she refused to allow any limits on the visits.
It was her-last few days that she agreed to a 15-minute limit, sol long as she could overrule it. On the day before Dee’s passing, she received a card from a friend, who had been prevented by circumstances from visiting Dee. She wrote of Dee that her “warmth, enthusiasm and honesty are gifts you gave freely, and we all have had our lives enriched by those gifts”.
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