Port Macquarie's Betty Allman is remembered as a champion among volunteers with a heart of gold, a wonderful friend and much-loved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
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The 84-year-old passed away peacefully on Friday, July 31.
Betty was a dedicated and passionate volunteer for organisations including the Hastings Cancer Trust, Sailability Port Macquarie and the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie West.
Hastings Cancer Trust chairman Dr Stephen Begbie said Betty was a high energy fundraiser with enormous passion for her volunteer work with the Hastings Cancer Trust, supporting cancer patients and their carers in the region.
He said the trust owed a great debt to Betty who was heavily involved in the non-profit organisation's first 10 years.
"Betty was a champion among volunteers," Dr Begbie said.
"If you added up the number of hours Betty spent on the Hastings Cancer Trust, we wouldn't have been able to afford her."
Betty's house would be full of raffle prizes and silent auction items as she worked tirelessly ahead of the annual gala dinner.
She retired from the Hastings Cancer Trust fundraising role in 2014.
Rotary Club of Port Macquarie West president Heather Mayne said Betty was involved in so many of the club's community projects, raising lots of money for Rotary.
She said Betty had a heart of pure gold and an energy and zest that she put towards helping others.
Mrs Mayne said Betty was such a loved and respected club member, and apart from the service she gave to many projects, it was her genuine warmth and vivacious character that the club members would miss dearly.
"Her smile and her laugh were infectious," she said.
Sailability Port Macquarie become part of Betty's life about four years ago.
Sailability Port Macquarie vice-president Wayne Evans said Betty was instantly in raptures the first time she saw Sailability Port Macquarie in action.
"It was right up Betty's alley and more than one person melted when Betty put her arm around them and whispered in their ear words like, thank you darling," he said.
Mr Evans said Betty was always immaculately attired but nothing gave her greater pleasure than to wear her T-shirt to McInherney Park, roll up her sleeves, get in the kitchen and cater for the fellow volunteers, and greet every person she could who came down to get out on the dinghies.
"Her involvement was therapeutic, not only to her but all of the volunteers, and certainly those we take out [on the water] and we refer to as crew."
Betty was born in the Sydney suburb of Rosebery in 1935 to Jim and Doris Watt.
In 1959, Betty met the love of her life John and they married two years later, calling Banksia home before moving to Beacon Hill and then Frenchs Forest.
Betty and John relocated to Port Macquarie in 2000 and enjoyed being involved in community organisations and met many wonderful friends.
John passed away in 2014.
Betty loved her four children, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
She enjoyed painting, travelling, gardening, dressing up, socialising, shopping, but most of all, helping people.
COVID-19 restrictions limited the number of people at the service to celebrate Betty's life.
The service can be watched online courtesy of Hastings District Funeral and Cremation Service.
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