90-year-old Betty Love Jolovich, dies in Sheridan – the last of her Maiden family generation

They were called the "Greatest Generation."  And in so many ways they were – those durable youngsters who grew up during the Great Depression and who knew the horrors and sacrifices that came with World War Two.

Betty Love Jolovich was of that generation.  She died at her home last week (3/22/17) in Sheridan, Wyoming at age 90.

Betty (Maiden) Love Jolovich
(1926 - 2017)

Born May 27, 1926 in the family farmhouse 14 miles northeast of Chadron, Nebraska, Betty Belle Maiden was the fifth daughter in the family of Bill and Leota Maiden.  She attended school on the home place and later at the Normal Prep School in Chadron.

On June 20, 1944, Betty married Marlin Love, an Army buddy of her brother Henry.  They honeymooned back to his home in Iowa on a motorcycle.  Alas, the old 1932 Harley-Davidson broke down in western Iowa, and they had to hitchhike the rest of the trip!

After Marlin was discharged from the Army, they moved to Sheridan, Wyoming, where they arrived December 4, 1944. The Loves would spend the rest of their lives in Wyoming, mostly in and around Sheridan, where they raised their four children.

Marlin Love died in 2000, and two years later, Betty married Paul Jolovich.

In addition to her parents, Betty Love Jolovich was pre-deceased by her first husband, Marlin Love, and by her sisters Minnie Scott, Nettie Drake, Lettie Miller, Dorothy Lewis, and Jocelyn Allen; brothers David Weston, William Weston, Henry Maiden, and James Walter Maiden.

She is survived by her second husband, Paul Jolovich of Sheridan, and by her children Beverly Reinke and Sandra Mosley of Sheridan, son Matthew Love of Gillette, and daughter Janice Tenold of Rapid City; and by numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

Her ashes will be spread near those of Marlin's up on the mountain in their beloved Big Horns, where the couple volunteered for so many years.

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Note:  The passing of Betty Love Jolovich marks the end of the Maiden family members who were of that "Greatest Generation."  She was the sole remaining child of Bill and Leota (Durham) Maiden, both born in the late 1800's.  None of the Maiden lives was easy, and that took a toll on some of them.  But it didn't hamper a tremendous sense of humor among a few of the Maiden girls – including Betty.  We'll always remember her infectious laugh, mischievous smile, and her keen wit.  None of us will soon forget this special lady.   We are adding a few additional photographs of "Aunt Betty" to the Maiden Family Gallery.