Murphys, CA…Born Nov. 24, 1928 to Robert and Lillian Fleiss in Detroit, MI. She was named Arabelle Betty because her father’s father liked and insisted on that name which Betty did not like. This created a lifelong confusion as Betty didn’t use her given first name. She graduated from Central High School in Detroit. She met the love of her life, Bernie Orman at the Jewish Community Center in Detroit. They were married October 22, 1950. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Economics. They had two boys, Rodger and Marc. They moved to Tucson on Dec. 31, 1959 because Bernie was allergic to snow.

Pictured above are Bernie and Betty Orman

She taught Sunday School at Temple Emanu-el for a couple years before getting her Masters of Social Work degree from ASU by commuting to Phoenix for two days a week while Bernie watched the boys. She worked at Jewish Family Services as a Social Worker helping displaced Jewish transient people, doing adoptions, helping to resettle Russian Jewish immigrants including our own cousins. She did individual and marriage counseling.

She worked at Jewish Family Service in Tucson for over 40 yrs. She taught Social Work at Pima Community College. She was a wonderful mother and loved playing games like scrabble, rummy cube and Mah Jongg. She encouraged her sons along their education paths. Rodger became a doctor and Marc a Mining Engineer.

She was very social and enjoyed a good party and traveling. She was kind to all, polite and courteous. She was preceded in death by her little sister, Judy who died of tongue cancer at age 28 and by her brother, Paul Fleiss, who was a Pediatrician who inspired Rodger to become a doctor at age 6.

She was married to Bernie for 69 years. They lived in Tucson for 59 years before moving to Grass Valley, California where Bernie passed away in 2019. During Covid, assisted living was too isolated and Holly and Rodger took her to live with them in Murphys in their home where she made many friends.

She played Maj and Scrabble, attended a book club and enjoyed her two great grandsons, Jason Lake Orr and Isaac Brix Orman.

She adored her 4 grandchildren. Zachary Solomon Orman who attended U of A Medical School but tragically died paragliding at age 28. She had a special relationship with Emily and Justin Orr. Emily helped care for Betty and took her out to lunch and made sure she had fun. She also had 2 grandsons in Grass Valley, CA. Josh (and Summer) and Daniel who she adored.

Betty was kind, courteous and a joy to be around and will be deeply missed. She passed on to the next world on June 6, 2023 at age 94.