Elizabeth (Betty) Oswill

Beloved Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, and Friend… Elizabeth “Betty” Ann Avagliano Oswill was born on September 2, 1931 in Maplewood, New Jersey to her parents, Giuseppe “Joe” Ralph Avagliano and Mary “Mae” C. Garrigan. She was the third of three daughters, youngest sister to Genevieve “Jean” and Rita. She resided in the family’s two story, three generation home her grandfather built with a large part of her extended Italian family just a block away. She often laughed that when the whole family got together for a party with spouses or dates they had a very full house. Betty attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School and Columbia High School, where she excelled academically and surprisingly, at 5’1”, was a standout basketball player! From kindergarten through high school she always had two male cousins in her class with her. After graduating high school she worked for the Maplewood Board of Education as a clerk/typist. Shortly after her high school graduation in 1949 she met a handsome sailor, George Walter Oswill, on a blind date arranged by her cousin Gloria’s sailor boyfriend, Matt. It was love at first sight for both of them. Betty and George were married on April 13, 1952. George passed in 2013. They were very happily married for sixty-one years. They had four children, Diane Oswill Godwin, Karen Oswill Galindo, George Oswill, Jr. and James Oswill. Betty had two sons-in-law, Michael Godwin and Richard Galindo, and a daughter-in-law, Cheryl Oswill. Betty had three grandsons, Casey and Joshua Godwin, and Daniel Galindo. She had four great-grandchildren, Kyle and Alyssa Godwin whose parents are Casey and Sarah Godwin, and London and Venice Godwin, whose parents are Joshua and Lucelyna Godwin. Betty was happiest when surrounded by her family celebrating holidays and life events and at simple get togethers. Two weeks following their wedding Betty and George moved to Glendale, California. Betty was a Glendale resident for 74 years. On her first Sunday in Glendale, she went to Mass in the school auditorium at The Church of the Incarnation while the church itself was still being built! She had been an active, loyal member of the congregation for 74 years! Betty had always been a woman of deep faith, beginning each day in prayer and reciting the rosary…at least once! Any time there was any kind of world crisis or family concern there’d be at least one more rosary that day!