City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Elizabeth “Bette” Hillerstrom
Cary, North Carolina
Age 91.
Died 07/29/2025.
Elizabeth, or Bette (pronounced “Betty”) was born on May 4, 1934 in White Plains, New York and was 91 years old. She is survived by her husband of 58 years, Tord Hillerstrom; two daughters, Sandra Aleksu Hillerstrom and Amy Hillerstrom Ort; a son-in-law, Ryan Ort; and two grandchildren, Dylan and Lauren Ort. She was preceded in death by her parents, Elsie (MacNamee) Helle and George Helle and her older brother, George Helle, Jr.
Growing up in New York, Bette spent her summers swimming alongside members of her father's Norwegian community on Long Island. When she was a teenager, her family relocated to Texas, where her father worked as a farmer and an engineer, and her mother worked as a homemaker and a legal secretary.
Living through the Great Depression and World War II as a child, Bette became a passionate advocate for social justice and was politically active throughout her life. She served as a member of the Marin County Grand Jury, advocating for ethical government and civic engagement. A gifted writer with a love of language, poetry, and theater, she studied at UCLA, Hunter College, and Columbia University. She performed in summer stock theater in Canada and held interesting jobs, including as a copy editor at ArtNews Magazine, an elementary school teacher, and a travel agent.
After they married in Texas, Bette and Tord moved to Sweden for two years. Bette learned to speak fluent Swedish and enjoyed living in another country. She held deep affection for Sweden and its respect for equality. From there, they moved to California, where they lived for almost thirty years. Bette enjoyed adventuring with her family, often in a Volkswagen camper with a pop-up roof. Tord and Bette opened their own travel agency, Tobe Travel (a fusion of their first names), where they worked side by side for many years in northern California. After retiring, they lived in Cambria, California and in New Mexico before moving to North Carolina to be near their grandchildren.
Bette had a wry sense of humor, a hearty mischievous laugh, and a healthy skeptical nature. She liked to write, sew, read the newspaper cover to cover, and discuss politics. She loved cats, dogs, and birds. Her face lit up when she shared stories of warblers and other cherished sightings. She was a firm believer in the healing power of healthy food. She treasured her fig and white peach trees.
Bette loved classical and jazz music. As New Yorkers in the mid-‘60s, she and Tord heard Dizzy Gillespie play live at the Blue Note on the West Side. During her final days, Bette was serenaded by live piano music at home, which brought her pleasure and peace.
Bette adored her family and was a devoted wife and mother. An innocent sweetness was especially alive in her during her final years. Her smiling eyes, loving heart and strong desire to connect will be deeply missed.
A private family celebration will be held at her home on what would have been Bette and Tord’s 58th wedding anniversary.
Her family kindly asks that donations be made to Transitions Life Care Hospice in her name in lieu of flowers.:
Transitions Life Care
ATTN: Philanthropy Dept.
250 Hospice Circle
Raleigh, NC 27607
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.