Betty Kendall: An Independent Woman, Terwilliger Plaza Member

Meet Your Neighbor

Dec 20

While there are so many interesting ways to enter this conversation, let’s start at the beginning.

Except for living with my grandparents in Illinois for a year, I was born and raised in Seattle, WA. I lived in the Madrona neighborhood and graduated in 1947 from Garfield High School, which at the time was one of the most diverse schools in the country. It was ordained by my parents that I would not go to college, so in high school I took every class I could get. After high school however, I did enroll in the nursing program at Virginia Mason School of Nursing and became a Registered Nurse (RN), which is where I first met my husband, John.

Your first meeting has an interesting backstory.

Yes, John was a scholarship student at Yale University and during his first year, he came home for Christmas on a plane that was chartered by Yale Alumni. It was a special gesture so that the students, who typically would have to take a long train ride across the country, could have more time with their families during the holidays. As the plane was departing Boeing Field returning to Yale, carrying 27 Yale students and three crewmembers, the plane crashed, and John was one of the eleven survivors. This was 1949 and John was in and out of the hospital with severe burns and two broken arms. I was 18 years old, just beginning my nursing career, and the first shot I ever gave, was to John. It was a painful injection. To put it mildly, he was not too pleased. But he did remember me.

Through a coincidence, I was later set up on a blind date with John. We became really, good friends and were engaged for almost five years before we married in 1954 when he was a junior in medical school at the University of Washington.

Your career as a registered nurse (RN) took an interesting turn as you entered more into research, participating in the discovery of breakthrough innovations and procedures.

Yes, I had a very exciting career as a nurse. I went on to work at Swedish Hospital in Seattle as a Head Nurse in Surgery. It was during that time that one of the doctors recommended me to join a team at the University of Washington Medical Center that was developing the oximeter, which among other things evaluates oxygen levels in your blood.

I worked on many facets of the research including recording vital signs of patients and mapping the data from which to analyze the results. Our team wrote a paper about the effects of upright posture and exercise on pulmonary hemodynamics that was published by the University of Washington Medical School.

And then, on to Nashville, TN?

Indeed. John received an internship at Vanderbilt University Hospital, and we relocated in 1956. I was pregnant with my second child. Nashville in 1956 was a very interesting scene.

Once again, you found yourself with an unexpected career opportunity.

Yes, soon after arriving, I received a call from the Chairman of the Department of Cardiology at Vanderbilt asking if I would come work with his team to organize a cardiac catheter lab. He had seen the paper we published at the University of Washington Medical Center. Four years later, we came back to Portland when John received a fellowship with Dr. Monte Greer, a well-known endocrinologist here in Portland at what was the University of Oregon Medical School, now Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU).

It was at that time, once we came back to Portland, that I decided I was going to be a mother and raise our children, which I did until 1974. We have three amazing children.

Then you embarked on a road trip that took you through Europe which launched your next career.

It was our 20th wedding anniversary. John and I decided we were going to purchase a new car. My daughter was studying in Germany, and was homesick, so we decided I would go to Europe, purchase a car and then, she and I would take a road trip through Europe. The car always seemed to break down when the repair shops were closed. It was terrifying. One time we were in the Alps, and it was getting dark. We just had to go with instinct to get the car going again. I might add, it included a lot of swearing, door slamming and striking the serious under the hood components with a pipe we found in the trunk.

Eventually I shipped the car back to the factory with the assistance of a couple of very nice longshoremen, and soon after, the regional director of the car company asked to see me. When I met with him, he said “what you did required such resourcefulness…have you ever thought of being a mechanic?” At first I thought he was making fun of me, which hurt his feelings. He went on to say, “wait a minute!...if my daughter or my wife were stuck in Portland, OR and had been as resourceful, I would have suggested the same thing.”

When you returned to Portland, what happened next?

Once I got home, I decided to explore what it might take to become an auto mechanic. The longest trip I’ve ever taken is walking across the shop to sign up for automotive classes at Portland Community College. I was the only woman in the class, and it was quite a shock to the other students. Every other day was a psychosocial phenomenon – everybody had an opinion. It was rough. I stuck with it. Many stories, but it’s too short a life to repeat all the things that happened that were socially significant and painful.

What was it about auto mechanics?

It was the problem solving, and the challenge. For many people, the minute you pop the hood, panic sets in. Although, if you can remember, every vehicle is made up of fuel, compression, and electricity. All three components need to work together.

How interesting that your description is like that of the inner workings of the human body. Were you leveraging your nursing expertise, as well?

Absolutely. Medical algorithms and mechanic algorithms follow the same process. The main difference is that while there is a customer in the car business, you have a patient in the middle of the medical procedure. Soon I realized just how much I liked the challenge and complexity of auto mechanics.

While I was enrolled in the program, I was already working in auto shops in the Portland area and completed the two-year course in 1978. While some people say I was the first, I prefer to say that I was among one of the first female auto mechanics certified in the country.

I was in my mid-forties, and yet, I could trace this experience back to when I was six and a half years old and spent almost a year with my grandparents on their farm in Illinois.

How did your experience on your grandparent’s farm influence your career as an auto mechanic?

My grandmother had a drawer in her kitchen that had some elementary tools and when something would go wrong with the farm machinery, especially during harvest, she would go out and tune it back up so that it would function properly. Not only did my grandmother fix the farm machinery, so did the other woman who had nearby farms. Unknowingly, it was a pivotal time that made an impression, influencing not just my career in auto mechanics, but gave me permission to be an independent woman.

After you completed the program you were asked by the Department Head of Automotive Services at Portland Community College to come back and teach.

Yes, at first, I taught part-time while continuing to work in local auto shops. Eventually, I went full-time and taught until I retired in 1995. I still see my friends and mechanics that I use to teach with. They are such smart and interesting people.

What brought you to Terwilliger Plaza?

John was in the final stages of Alzheimer’s. We moved into Terwilliger in 2018 and John passed in 2019. He got the best supportive care. The people in The Metcalf were astute, caring, and kind. There was also a support group consisting of Members here going through the same thing. It was grounding. Each one of us was able to look at our situation realistically and learn from each other.

You are a remarkable woman, with a deep inner strength that is infused with modesty, humility, and grace. A trailblazer who deflects any accolades for your achievements, instead recognizing those who have shared and influenced your journey.

I only think of myself as a pillar, one of many, many women, and men, who have advanced the voice and independence of women. This includes John. His heart was always on my side. I can think of a thousand people without whom I would not have been able to realize even the minimal accomplishments. I feel like I’ve have had so many adventures, because of having to live. As with many of us, circumstances seemed to find me, and it was my job to recognize them, and take advantage of the opportunities.

What I will say though, is the day that a woman realizes she doesn’t have to be perfect at what she wants to do, is the day that I come booming back from heaven to say, YES! What took us so long?

Think Joule