Prominent CV Artist Turns 100

Betty Loeffler turns 100 this week.

Prominent Castro Valley artist Betty Loeffler turns 100 this week, celebrating this milestone on March 26. She has lived in Castro Valley for 60 years. 

“She’s shown her art all over California and Hawaii,” says her daughter Pamela Loeffler Holloway.

Born Betty Louise Glaves in Douglass, Kansas on March 26, 1922, she was one of three girls and two boys born to Virgil and Icle Glaves.  Her father was a soldier in WW I and worked in the oil fields afterwards. 

By the time Betty was 12, the family moved to Ontario, Oregon. She graduated from high school there and attended Oregon State University in Portland. 

While in college she met her future husband, Robert Allan Loeffler, who was in medical school at the time. They married and he became a Navy doctor after med school.  He retired from the Navy after 20 years. 

This abstract is one of the many paintings created by Castro Valley artist Betty Loeffler.

In 1960 the family settled in Castro Valley, where Robert opened a plastic surgery practice on Redwood Road. During that time Betty was a stay-at-home mom who joined Adobe Art Center and Sun Gallery and became renowned for her talents. 

She and Robert raised five daughters —the last two were twins — during which time Betty perfected her drawing, painting, print-making and paper-making skills. The family built a large studio behind their house. Both Betty and Robert (who was himself a sculptor and ceramics artist) spent many creative hours there. 

Robert passed away in 1992, and Betty remained active in the art world. In 2018 Sun Gallery hosted a retrospective showcasing six decades of her work.

The Loefflers were world travelers, visiting approximately 42 countries. Betty also was an avid golfer, and even made a hole-in-one at Castlewood Country Club. 

In addition to her five children, she has seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

When asked what has contributed to her long life, she says, “Having family and friends around me, being in my home all these years, and getting good care.”