Elizabeth Westwater, 88, of Champaign died at 5:55 a.m. Tuesday, July 17, 2007, at Meadowbrook Health Center, Urbana. Memorial services will be at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at Renner-Wikoff Chapel, 1900 S. Philo Road, Urbana. True to her spirit of generosity, she has donated her body to medical research. Elizabeth was born in Danville on July 15, 1919, to Elizabeth & Howard Keener. She married James Westwater on June 9, 1942. He preceded her in death. They had four children: Barbara Westwater of Urbana, Judith White of Champaign, David Westwater of Albion, Iowa, and Beverly Moore of Marshalltown, Iowa. There are 7 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. They bought a home in Urbana in August, 1948 and lived there until October, 2001, when they moved next door to their daughter in Champaign. Betty nurtured and enjoyed her children and grandchildren. Until age 80, she joyfully cared for her disabled daughter, Barbara. She then cared for her husband for 6 A½ years after he had a massive stroke and became bedridden. She lived the last year of her life at Meadowbrook Health Center. Betty enjoyed traveling internationally with her husband, Jim, accompanying him on business trips and pleasure trips. They traveled extensively all over the world and visited every continent, and she truly believed in a "global community" and that all people are worthy of respect. One of her favorite countries to visit was Israel, and she took all of her children and grandchildren to tour this country of their Christian roots. She was a lifelong student and was enrolled in Urbana's Adult Education classes until age 80. She was always interested in developing new skills or learning new information. Although she never used her bachelor of fine arts degree in art education (received from the U of I in 1942) to forge a career, she used her artistic talents to direct craft projects in Girl Scouts and Sunday School. She loved to read, sew, knit, and do crafts. She lived her life in service to her God, her family, her church, and her community. She led Brownie and Girl Scout troops for her daughters. In 1978, she became a lifetime member of Burnham & Covenant Auxiliaries--serving as administrative hostess, President for one year in 1987, and knitting items (children's sweaters, bibs for newborns, & Christmas stockings) for the gift shop. She found many ways to serve for over 50 years in the First United Methodist Church of Urbana, including leading circles of the Women's Society of Christian Service (which later became the United Methodist Women), serving as chairman of Vacation Bible School 2 times, and teaching Sunday School for 20 years. She worked as the church's parish visitor from June, 1967 to February, 1978. She worked for unity in religious faiths through Church Women United, serving 2 terms as President and as local chairman for a state meeting held in Urbana in 1987. She richly blessed the lives of all who knew her. Memorials may be made to UCSD Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, 8950 Villa La Jolla Drive, Ste. C129, La Jolla, CA 92037.