Aleta Dorothy Begley

CANAAN VALLEY — Aleta Dorothy Begley died Feb. 27, 2016, with her family at her side in Sheridan, Mont., after a six-year battle against ovarian cancer. 

Aleta was born Dec. 8, 1946, to Dorothy  and Alfred Thergesen in Redding, Pa. They lived in Lincoln, Vt., until Dorothy’s sudden death. 

Aleta attended college at Albright College, where she was studying to be a PE teacher. She then transferred to the nursing program at Hartford Hospital. After graduation, she moved to Boston, Mass., where she worked as a registered nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital.

She married Peter Begley on April 25, 1970. They moved to the Canaan Valley, where they raised five children: Dayna, Tate, Slade, Alesha and Kaytlin.

Aleta worked at Lois Carlson’s Nursery, Winsted Hospital, and she was the director of nursing at Parkside Lodge and the Sharon Hospital Behavioral Health Unit. 

In 2010, she was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer, while visiting family in Montana. She fought multiple relapses and endured several rounds of chemotherapy. Many people did not know Aleta was ill because she fought with grace, a smile and a contagious zest for life. She was grateful for any amount of time she was granted to be with her beloved family. 

She loved the Cape Cod seashore and spent many summers there with her children and grandchildren.

Her family was the light of her life. She leaves behind her sisters, Andrea (Thergesen) Lecuyer of Bozeman, Mont., and Joan Devries and her husband, William, of Taconic in Salisbury; her daughters, Dayna Thergesen and her husband, Begley Leavens, and children, McCall and Cady Leavens of Sheridan, Mont.; her son, Tate Begley and his wife, Jeannine, and their children, Rigby, Gunnar and Kora; a son, Slade Begley of Cornwall Bridge; a daughter, Alesha (Begley) Hamill and her husband, Richard Hamill, and their daughters, Sydney and Kennedy of Gilbert, Ariz.; and a daughter, Kaytlin Begley, and her son, Samuel, of Livingston. Numerous other family members and friends will miss her dearly.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Ruby Valley Swimming pool in Sheridan, Mont., or the Cancer Support Community Center at the Bozeman Health Hospital. Cremation has taken place. A celebration of life will be held at a later date and time.