Betty Jane Castelan Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Betty Jane was born May 14, 1924 in Los Angeles, California to Alfred Stanley Churton and Nina Violet (Bahnsen) Churton. She was the youngest of three daughters and had fond memories of her childhood years spent in Los Angeles. As a child, she played the cello and took dancing lessons, and as a young woman she loved to read and write poetry and was a beautiful ice skater. She spoke of wonderful days spent with her mother when they would take the streetcar into downtown L.A. where they would go shopping, out to lunch and take in a movie. She remembered dancing the jitterbug, and the swing to the music of Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman as well as the black outs and Victory Gardens during World War II. She met the love of her life, Norman Castelan in study hall at John Marshall High School in 1940, but it wasn’t until after she graduated in 1942 that they met again and fell in love. They were married on September 11, 1942 and spent the next 61 years together. Settling in the Orange county area of Southern California, Norman and Betty raised a family of three daughters: Jane, Norma and Nina. These happy family years were filled with fun-filled excursions: camping on the Kern River in Kern County, enjoying trips to the beaches of Newport and Corona del Mar and summering at the beautiful cove of El Morro in Laguna Beach, California. After a brief, but successful experience in modeling, Betty’s love of dance blossomed into an exciting and fulfilling career. Embarking on a cruise in 1955 to the beautiful island of Hawaii, Betty’s love of the Hawaiian people and their culture grew into a passionate study of the different dance forms of Polynesia. Being a beautiful and graceful, natural dancer, Betty eventually began performing and became an instructor of Hawaiian, Tahitian, Mauri and Samoan styles of dance. With the culmination of her extensive teaching came the creation of her popular dance troupe, “Tiare Tiporo and the Aloha Dancers”. Tiare Tiporo translates into Lemon Blossom in Hawaiian. This successful dance troupe performed locally in Orange County and throughout the Southern California area for many years. For many years she had pursued a love of studying unique and interesting subjects which she continued during her years on the ranch, including nutrition, meditation and metaphysics. She enriched the lives of so many with her insight and capabilities in these areas, mastering the art of calculating and deciphering astrological charts as well. It was during this time that she took the name Jayne. In 2003, with Norman’s passing, Jayne moved to Talent, Oregon where she resided for the remainder of her life. Jayne was preceded in death by her parents; husband; two sisters, Ruth Hammond and Dorothy Dunn; and nephew Neil Hammond. She is survived by her daughters Jane Buccola, Norma Castelan, and Nina Lee; grandchildren Virginia Buccola, Norman Buccola, Johanna Buccola, Norman Lee and Nathan Hawkins; niece Sharon Falkner; nephews Clayton Dunn, Gary Hammond; and great-grandchildren Eden, Abigail, Aiden, Lucas and Logan. A private family service was held February 1st in Talent, Oregon.

Tributes

Betty Jane Castelan

May 14, 1924 - January 30, 2021