October 2014
Bette Jean Davern, F49346, wife of former FMCA national vice president Bill Davern, died May 24, 2014, at her home in Tucson, Arizona. She was 87.
Bette served on the FMCA Review Council from 1987 to 1989. She was preceded in death by Bill, who was 90 when he died in March 2011. Bill was national vice president, Rocky Mountain Area, from 1996 to 1999, and he also served on numerous FMCA national committees.
Bette Clatterback was 18 when she met her future husband on a blind date. He was a career Air Force officer, and in their 64 years of marriage they lived many places, including Texas; Georgia; Michigan; Nebraska; Washington, D.C.; Japan; and Bolivia, until they finally settled in Tucson.
They then spent 13 years working as Realtors until 1983, when they faced the decision of whether to invest in a timeshare or a motorhome. “I was thinking about the timeshare, and thought that instead of being stuck in one place, maybe we should buy a motorhome,” Bette said after her husband’s death. They chose the latter, and they joined FMCA. The couple visited every U.S. state but three, as well as parts of Canada.
Bette is survived by her three sons — Don, Keith, and David — and their spouses, as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.