Elizabeth Shafer Sweeten was born January 4th, 1935, to John Merlin Shafer and Elizabeth Wight Shafer in Lethbridge, Alberta Canada, the eldest of 7 children.

Beth’s early life was spent in Lethbridge and Calgary and the family would move between Ordbend, California where her father would work as sweat labor on a farm for bees, which he would transport to Ranier, Alberta to produce honey.

The Shafer family moved to Ogden, Utah in 1950 where Beth attended Weber High and won awards for sewing and modeling clothes.

After high school, she attended BYU where she met and married Lloyd Robert Sweeten of Malad, Idaho in 1956, and started a family as both completed their degrees.

In 1961, Lloyd and Beth moved their growing family to the C.H. Sweeten and Sons farm in Holbrook, Idaho, and later moved to Malad to raise four children; Stephen, Robert, Sharon, and Rachael, all of whom survive her with 10 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents and her brother Robert Shafer. Beth is survived by her brothers Howard Shafer and Gordon Shafer, and her sisters Marian Bergin, Alice Shafer, and Margaret Orton.

Beth spent her life as an educator, an artist, and matriarch of her family. Beth taught English at Malad High and worked for the Idaho Extension Service helping farm wives with home making skills and support programs. In 1984 Lloyd and Beth moved to Ogden, Utah where she taught English and ESL at Ogden High and Washington High. 

She was known for being an excellent cook, a voracious reader, a talented seamstress, and an inspiring artist in watercolors, oils, and fabric. She has embodied the essence of lifelong learning for all who knew her and experienced her teacher’s heart. She was proud to share her knowledge and commitment to health freedom throughout her life. She loved to travel and experience new places with her sisters, her children and grandchildren and her friends. Nothing brought her more joy in her final years than witnessing the growth of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and of course snuggling with her pets. 

On August 29th, 2024, Beth returned to her maker and her husband at the age of 89.

Beth’s memory, her art and her influence will grace our lives forever.