The family of Betty Everett of Defiance gathered for a cookout recently to celebrate her 80th birthday at the home of her son, David, and wife, Eileen, in Kent.
Guests came from both coasts: Her brother, the Rev. Richard J. Steele of Seattle, flew in for the festivities, while her daughter and son-in-law, Jean and Scott Cohoon, drove from Cranston, R.I. Also attending were her cousin, Kaye McCormick and husband, Bud, Butler, Pa., and granddaughters Sheila Everett, Columbus, and Molly Enrick and husband, Brendan, Streetsboro. Everett's two other grandchildren, Lincoln Cohoon of Boston, and Suzanne Cohoon, who attends Plymouth State University, Plymouth, N.H., were unable to attend.
Guests enjoyed a chocolate birthday cake designed to look like a Scrabble board to celebrate Everett's lifelong love of words.
She is a writer, Scrabble player and crossword-puzzle fan.